Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 699 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 699 shares during the quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $15,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 11,404,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,086,836,000 after acquiring an additional 456,738 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,186,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,757,181,000 after buying an additional 170,560 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,503,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,219,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,890 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth approximately $694,985,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,150,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,860,000 after purchasing an additional 30,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE HCA traded up $4.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $319.70. 1,458,969 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,102,668. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $215.96 and a 52-week high of $344.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $326.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $317.80. The firm has a market cap of $83.73 billion, a PE ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 29.26, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total value of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Kathryn A. Torres sold 973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 22,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,977,880. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.00, for a total transaction of $494,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 34,124 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,544,316. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,397 shares of company stock worth $3,921,929 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HCA. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $371.00 to $360.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $356.00 to $367.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $359.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $327.00 to $332.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $326.53.

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.