Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 286,634 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,662 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.11% of HCA Healthcare worth $115,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bangor Savings Bank raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 112.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 284.0% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 96 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,678 shares in the company, valued at $11,438,494.76. The trade was a 21.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.0 %

HCA stock opened at $328.95 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $245.84 and a 12 month high of $417.14. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $376.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $427.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.29.

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.