Aberdeen Group plc Boosts Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Aberdeen Group plc increased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 140,450 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $65,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sovran Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,063,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Centerpoint Advisors LLC now owns 222 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 3.9% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.4% during the third quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, One Capital Management LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $472.01 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $511.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $477.90. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $314.43 and a 12-month high of $556.52. The company has a market capitalization of $105.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.36.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 10.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $494.00 to $551.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $537.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,853 shares in the company, valued at $4,721,924.61. This trade represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,411,395. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare 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.