Intrust Bank NA Sells 538 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Intrust Bank NA trimmed its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 58,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 538 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises 1.8% of Intrust Bank NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $17,690,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,503,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,830,000 after buying an additional 23,177 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $840,286,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 174,946 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 1,500,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,461,000 after buying an additional 574,239 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.8% during 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 worth $604,511,000 after acquiring an additional 41,190 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $406.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $380.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.67.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $342.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $324.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a return on equity of 586.47% and a net margin of 8.16%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is 13.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,412 shares in the company, valued at $4,971,757.08. This trade represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.