Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Trims Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lessened its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,754 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,927 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $28,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Canoe Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE HCA opened at $316.18 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $80.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $313.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $352.55.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase 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 0.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

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.