Mondrian Investment Partners LTD Cuts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Mondrian Investment Partners LTD trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 358,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,423 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises approximately 2.0% of Mondrian Investment Partners LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD owned approximately 0.14% of HCA Healthcare worth $118,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 322.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after purchasing an additional 2,397,883 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after acquiring an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $150,548,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $74,121,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 226,952.9% in the fourth quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 231,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,513,000 after acquiring an additional 231,492 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $314.71 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $77.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $318.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $346.05. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company earned $5.90 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value 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 trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.