Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,197 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,467 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.07% of HCA Healthcare worth $70,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,152,408,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,214,000 after buying an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.8% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,124,511 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,267,000 after acquiring an additional 8,478 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,656,000 after purchasing an additional 47,960 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $531.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $118.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $311.26 and a 52-week high of $556.52. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $505.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $468.65.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 27th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $529.00 to $561.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $537.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total transaction of $2,020,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 44,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,411,395. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total transaction of $903,528.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,853 shares in the company, valued at $4,721,924.61. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About HCA Healthcare

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.