Smith Group Asset Management LLC Sells 3,047 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 53,754 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,047 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $16,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company's stock worth $69,513,000 after buying an additional 231,492 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 210.6% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 306,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,691,000 after purchasing an additional 208,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 843,764 shares of the company's stock worth $253,020,000 after buying an additional 193,075 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Barclays decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $390.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $382.19.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $327.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,142,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,782,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $313.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.27. The stock has a market cap of $83.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.85%.

HCA Healthcare 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.