Longview Partners Guernsey LTD Sells 74,795 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Longview Partners Guernsey LTD lowered its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,760,538 shares of the company's stock after selling 74,795 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare accounts for about 3.9% of Longview Partners Guernsey LTD's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD owned about 0.70% of HCA Healthcare worth $528,425,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 99.0% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC now owns 191 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA traded up $4.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $322.57. 455,108 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,382,108. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $79.42 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $328.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $333.19.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $381.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.