HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Sold by Argent Capital Management LLC

Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 223,891 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,992 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare accounts for 3.0% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Argent Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of HCA Healthcare worth $104,526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,309,000 after acquiring an additional 896,437 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position 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 valued at $717,214,000 after acquiring an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,530,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3,755.9% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 269,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,036,000 after purchasing an additional 262,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,171,357.94. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total value of $747,135.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,194.27. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of HCA opened at $499.49 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $111.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $314.43 and a 12 month high of $556.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $509.58 and its 200-day moving average is $472.46.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. UBS Group increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $503.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $537.73.

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.