USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 3,714 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,495 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,714 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,655,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,498,417,000 after purchasing an additional 116,826 shares during the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company's stock worth $1,351,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,177 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,871,057 shares of the company's stock worth $1,159,882,000 after acquiring an additional 50,321 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,928,452 shares of the company's stock worth $878,975,000 after acquiring an additional 19,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $840,286,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $336.00 target price (down previously 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. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $381.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Jon M. Foster sold 15,698 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, reaching $376.86. 1,138,192 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,439,364. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $346.75 and a 200 day moving average of $329.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $6.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.75 by $0.70. The firm had revenue of $18.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.26 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.36 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 16th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 12.81%.

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.