Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,130 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 27.9% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Optas LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claret Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.9% during the second quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 614 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $482.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $503.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $495.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $485.95.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE:HCA opened at $478.75 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $295.00 and a 52-week high of $520.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $480.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $429.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.90 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. This represents a 52.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

HCA Healthcare is a for‑profit operator of healthcare facilities headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1968, the company owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities and has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to become a large provider of inpatient and outpatient services.

The company’s core activities include the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA’s services encompass inpatient care, surgical services, emergency medicine, diagnostic imaging and laboratory testing, and various outpatient and ambulatory care offerings.