Artemis Investment Management LLP Sells 17,478 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Artemis Investment Management LLP decreased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 53.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,196 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,478 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $4,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Clarius Group LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 46.9% during the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 3,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP grew its holdings in 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. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 137.7% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 116,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,840,000 after buying an additional 8,329 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Raymond James lowered HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.27.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.4 %

HCA opened at $310.60 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $316.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $353.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.64. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $278.50 and a 1-year high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.85%.

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.