Amalgamated Bank Decreases Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,348 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,005 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,910,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 322.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,141,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,276,909,000 after buying an additional 2,397,883 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,669,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $660,842,000 after acquiring an additional 174,946 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,487,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $604,511,000 after purchasing an additional 41,190 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 12.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,339,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $544,467,000 after buying an additional 143,995 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 120.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 873,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,264,000 after buying an additional 476,756 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total transaction of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $333.30 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $417.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $314.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $350.33. The company has a market capitalization of $82.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.17, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.11%.

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.