Thompson Investment Management Inc. Has $1.63 Million Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 24.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,750 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 31.7% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 17,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,241,000 after buying an additional 4,285 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth about $150,548,000. Galvin Gaustad & Stein LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at about $18,044,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $869,000. Finally, NRI Wealth Management LC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,896,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $321.95 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $81.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a PEG ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $313.75 and a 200-day moving average of $353.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company earned $5.90 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. The trade was a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.