California Public Employees Retirement System Boosts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 368,868 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,511 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.16% of HCA Healthcare worth $157,212,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,309,000 after acquiring an additional 896,437 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at $106,605,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $81,596,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HCA shares. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $494.00 to $551.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Truist Financial lifted their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,194.27. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $533.39 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $313.21 and a one year high of $556.52. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $507.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.48. The company has a market cap of $119.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.34.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its 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 business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior 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 predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.15%.

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.