Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 98,026 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 873,498 shares of the company’s stock after selling 98,026 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.34% of HCA Healthcare worth $262,180,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock opened at $346.08 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market cap of $85.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $325.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $340.60. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 13.11%.

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.