Qtron Investments LLC Sells 354 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Qtron Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,927 shares of the company’s stock after selling 354 shares during the quarter. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HCA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $840,286,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,492 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.6 %

HCA opened at $333.07 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $327.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $336.54. The company has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.48.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About HCA Healthcare

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.