HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Stock Position Trimmed by Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC

Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC cut its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,121 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,085 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises approximately 2.0% of Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $11,791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $840,286,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,703,907 shares of the company's stock worth $5,887,850,000 after buying an additional 1,699,713 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after purchasing an additional 574,239 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 85.7% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock worth $318,727,000 after purchasing an additional 489,916 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 120.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company's stock worth $262,264,000 after purchasing an additional 476,756 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Baird R W downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 target price (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $384.00 to $376.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $388.80.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total value of $5,797,585.36. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE HCA traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $384.52. 619,646 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,440,692. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. 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 capitalization of $92.51 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $355.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $331.72.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.