Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 62,839 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 585,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 62,839 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of HCA Healthcare worth $158,501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 3.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,152,419 shares of the company's stock valued at $529,452,000 after purchasing an additional 67,332 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,860,000 after acquiring an additional 30,072 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 5.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,146,844 shares of the company's stock valued at $528,081,000 after acquiring an additional 102,025 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 3.7% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,594,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $392,177,000 after acquiring an additional 57,390 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 605,931 shares of the company's stock worth $150,101,000 after buying an additional 6,368 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Raymond James upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $310.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total value of $289,299.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Sammie S. Mosier sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total transaction of $513,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,385,552. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Chad J. Wasserman sold 876 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.25, for a total transaction of $289,299.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,576 shares in the company, valued at $520,474. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,840 shares of company stock worth $4,588,869 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE HCA traded down $7.43 on Friday, reaching $306.69. 2,257,051 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,296. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $323.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $295.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 35.07. The company has a market cap of $81.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.65. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $215.96 and a 12 month high of $335.83.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 996.30% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company's revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 13.91%.

HCA Healthcare declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, January 30th that allows the company to buyback $6.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.