Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 24.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 38,348.7% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 89,141,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,755,313,000 after acquiring an additional 88,909,485 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $5,069,974,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $1,262,513,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $410,992,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $371,138,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $426.00 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $405.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $431.98. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $353.99 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The stock has a market cap of $92.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.10.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $20.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.76 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.77% and a negative return on equity of 244.79%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.84 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $475.00 to $435.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $485.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on HCA Healthcare from $490.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $396.00 to $393.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $588.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $462.64.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc (NYSE:HCA) is a healthcare services company that operates hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Its network provides a broad range of medical services, including emergency care, inpatient and outpatient treatment, surgery, diagnostic services, and maternity care.

The company also operates ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care facilities, physician practices, and other outpatient locations. HCA Healthcare serves patients through facilities located across the United States, as well as through HCA Healthcare UK, its healthcare operations in the United Kingdom.

HCA Healthcare was founded in 1968 by Dr.