Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 460,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,491 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.20% of HCA Healthcare worth $196,365,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position in 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. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter valued at approximately $106,605,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $81,596,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.50.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $533.63 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $310.18 and a one year high of $552.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $500.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.79.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 409.11% and a net margin of 8.97%.The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, 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 $14,944,194.27. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total value of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,171,357.94. This represents a 40.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Stories Impacting HCA Healthcare

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and research upgrades: several outlets and analysts continue to rate HCA favorably — one consensus snapshot called the stock a “Moderate Buy,” reflecting continued analyst confidence that HCA can grow earnings and return capital to shareholders. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term demographic bull case: MarketBeat argues HCA is a likely beneficiary of U.S. aging demographics, noting management’s strong guidance (FY2026 EPS and EBITDA ranges), expanded capex, a $10B repurchase authorization and a raised dividend — all supportive of long‑term growth and shareholder returns. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst estimate tweaks from Zacks: Zacks Research nudged near‑term EPS estimates slightly higher for Q2, Q3 and Q4 2026 and raised FY2026 to $29.63, which supports the earnings outlook, but it kept a “Hold” rating — a modest positive but not a strong endorsement. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks’ view is mixed farther out: while FY2026 estimates were lifted, Zacks trimmed its FY2028 EPS forecast modestly — a sign analysts see near‑term strength but some uncertainty on longer‑term margin expansion. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Local/industry headlines are mixed and mostly non‑company specific: a local hospital (Manchester’s Catholic Medical Center) plans to end outpatient mental‑health services and a leadership hire at Methodist Healthcare were reported — signals about regional capacity and staffing but with limited direct impact on HCA’s large national footprint. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near‑term policy and revenue risks remain prominent: recent company commentary and market writeups note revenue growth was slightly below expectations in the prior quarter and management flagged $600–$900M of potential EBITDA headwinds from insurance‑exchange changes plus state supplemental payment declines — factors that could cap near‑term upside despite strong EPS. Article Title

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.