HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) Shares Sold by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 208,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,350 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $62,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $342.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $417.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $324.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. The trade was a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.