Argent Trust Co Sells 4,079 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Argent Trust Co trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 72.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,514 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,079 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $645,000 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. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,152,408,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the second 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. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,656,000 after buying an additional 47,960 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 valued at $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 868,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on HCA. Wall Street Zen cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $588.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,003 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,194.27. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total value of $903,528.78. Following the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $528.69 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $118.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $493.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $460.92. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.00 and a 1 year high of $552.90.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

HCA Healthcare News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift — Mizuho set a new $585 price target for HCA, reinforcing bullish analyst sentiment and helping support the stock’s rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Post‑earnings momentum — Analysts and writeups (Zacks) highlight HCA’s strong post‑earnings performance (EPS beat and raised FY26 guidance), which is a key reason for recent share gains. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Investor roadshow / conference calendar — HCA will present at multiple March healthcare conferences (TD Cowen, Raymond James, Barclays, Leerink, Oppenheimer), increasing institutional visibility and liquidity. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion & facility investments — TriStar (an HCA division) is planning a $21M freestanding ER in Fairview and HCA (with Ascension) is targeting high‑growth markets with ER builds, signaling organic growth and franchise expansion. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Market strategy: ER build partnership — Coverage on HCA and Ascension targeting growth markets with ER builds points to disciplined capital deployment to capture patient volumes. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Quality recognition — A local report highlights high marks for HCA on CABG outcomes, which supports reputation and could help referrals/volume over time. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and reputation wins — HCA and several systems made Fortune’s Most‑Admired list, a positive for reputation and hiring/partnerships. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Local market developments — Coverage of Northeast Florida health‑care development (HCA, Baptist, Ascension St. Vincent’s) outlines competitive dynamics; useful for regional growth outlook but not an immediate system‑wide catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: New clinic opening — HCA Florida’s North Florida Hospital launched a test‑and‑treat clinic (local operational expansion), positive for access but a limited impact on consolidated results. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Governance / compensation update — HCA disclosed its 2026 executive bonus plan and a longtime board member will retire; watch for details tying pay to metrics, but this is mostly governance housekeeping. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparative performance pieces — A Yahoo Finance comparison of HCA vs. peer healthcare stocks offers context for investors but contains no new company-specific catalyst. Read More.

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.