Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 1,135 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,478 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,135 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.07% of HCA Healthcare worth $53,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Canoe Financial LP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $335.31 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $313.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $353.59. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The firm has a market cap of $84.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results 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 period last year, the firm posted $5.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 12.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

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.