Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 5,405 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 482,644 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,405 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $160,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Centerpoint Advisors LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $303.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 28th. StockNews.com raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Baird R W upgraded HCA Healthcare to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $326.53.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $4.37 on Wednesday, hitting $324.07. The company had a trading volume of 361,008 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,570. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $215.96 and a 1 year high of $344.20. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $326.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $318.07.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $5.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.01 by $0.35. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.20% and a return on equity of 674.49%. The firm had revenue of $17.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.93 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 20.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total value of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,397,042.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 1,863 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $326.18, for a total transaction of $607,673.34. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 19,612 shares in the company, valued at $6,397,042.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $312.00, for a total value of $303,576.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 22,365 shares in the company, valued at $6,977,880. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,397 shares of company stock valued at $3,921,929. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare 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.