Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 45,857 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 15.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 250,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,857 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned about 0.10% of HCA Healthcare worth $101,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.3% during the third quarter. Terra Nova Asset Management LLC now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,297,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted 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 valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.8% during the third quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management increased 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 valued at $1,652,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the third 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $392.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Raymond James cut HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.29.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $328.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $376.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $358.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 1.00. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $245.84 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The company has a market cap of $83.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.68.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.85%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 8,358 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $385.42, for a total transaction of $3,221,340.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,438,494.76. This trade represents a 21.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,155 shares of company stock worth $5,608,990. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

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.