Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning Decreases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning trimmed its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 16.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 649 shares during the quarter. Handelsinvest Investeringsforvaltning’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,086,836,000 after acquiring an additional 456,738 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,186,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,757,181,000 after acquiring an additional 170,560 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,503,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,219,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,890 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at $694,985,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $528,860,000 after purchasing an additional 30,072 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total value of $516,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,905. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jeffrey E. Cohen sold 1,650 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.00, for a total transaction of $516,450.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 5,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,622,905. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,977,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $317.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.94, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $326.06 and a 200-day moving average of $317.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $215.96 and a 52 week high of $344.20.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 674.49% and a net margin of 8.20%. The business’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.93 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on HCA. Robert W. Baird began coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $396.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. StockNews.com upgraded HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.53.

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.