Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 45,456 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its HCA Healthcare stake by 34% in the third quarter, selling 45,456 shares and retaining 88,283 shares valued at about $37.7 million.
• HCA beat quarterly estimates, reporting $7.22 in earnings per share versus the $6.65 consensus and $19.85 billion in revenue, up 3.6% year over year.
• Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with a $480.13 average price target. HCA also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 34.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,283 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,456 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $37,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 111 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 806 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.5% during the third quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 994 shares of the company's stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.6% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,469 shares of the company's stock worth $2,334,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jon Foster sold 21,713 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $494.95, for a total value of $10,746,849.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,949,500. This represents a 68.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Erica Rossitto sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.81, for a total transaction of $1,770,335.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,426 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,791,005.06. This trade represents a 20.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,413 shares of company stock valued at $18,251,464. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:HCA opened at $504.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $105.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $353.99 and a 52-week high of $556.52. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $447.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $445.64.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $7.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.65 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $19.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.33 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 198.52% and a net margin of 8.61%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.96 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Weiss Ratings raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $510.00 target price (up from $495.00) on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $476.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, July 27th. Leerink Partners reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $492.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $460.00 to $486.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $480.13.

HCA Healthcare Profile

HCA Healthcare is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals and other care facilities. Its services include inpatient and outpatient care, emergency treatment, surgery, diagnostic services and specialized care across areas such as cancer and cardiovascular medicine. The company serves patients in the United States and the United Kingdom through its network of hospitals and outpatient facilities, including surgery centers, urgent care clinics and physician practices. Founded in 1968, HCA Healthcare is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

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