Blue Trust Inc. Sells 655 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,045 shares of the company’s stock after selling 655 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $12,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,297,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 421 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,652,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $312.51 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $279.93 and a 12-month high of $417.14. The stock has a market cap of $79.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $313.49 and its 200-day moving average is $352.87.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 520.98% and a net margin of 8.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.90 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 21.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total value of $1,023,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,843 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,415,579. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total value of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $400.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.27.

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.