HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 428,720 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,092 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.17% of HCA Healthcare worth $148,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $840,286,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company's stock worth $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 85.7% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,061,891 shares of the company's stock worth $318,727,000 after buying an additional 489,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 12,016.0% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 467,437 shares of the company's stock worth $140,301,000 after buying an additional 463,579 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.32, for a total transaction of $5,797,585.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 12,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,670,420.72. This trade represents a 55.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $379.00 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $417.14. The business's 50-day moving average price is $366.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $336.91. The firm has a market cap of $91.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 1,063.91% and a net margin of 8.07%. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on HCA. Stephens upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 price objective (down from $396.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Baird R W lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $410.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $385.00 in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $395.71.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HCA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.