State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 1,100 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,509 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,860,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,264,000 after buying an additional 476,756 shares during the last quarter. Meritage Group LP bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $150,548,000. Canoe Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after purchasing an additional 231,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in HCA Healthcare by 43,546.1% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 223,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,074,000 after purchasing an additional 222,956 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” 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 research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE HCA opened at $312.32 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $315.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $348.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $5.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.