Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare by 12.5%, owning 8,655 shares valued at approximately $2.99 million after selling 1,232 shares.
• HCA Healthcare reported earnings of $6.84 per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $6.20, with revenue increasing by 6.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.8%, to be paid on September 30th.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 12.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,655 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,232 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,991,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Atwood & Palmer Inc. purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 888.9% during the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 89 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 344.0% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 75.8% during the 1st quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 116 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $336.00 price objective (down previously from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $395.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. The trade was a 55.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA traded up $8.51 on Friday, hitting $381.84. 1,015,992 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,594,209. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $417.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $369.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $349.53. The stock has a market cap of $89.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.39.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The company's revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

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.