HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Kiltearn Partners LLP

Kiltearn Partners LLP cut its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,100 shares during the period. HCA Healthcare makes up 2.5% of Kiltearn Partners LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Kiltearn Partners LLP’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $341.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $323.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.86.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS 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 quarter last year, the business posted $5.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.