HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 20.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,656 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,705 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $43,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 16,885 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,883,000 after acquiring an additional 1,405 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE HCA opened at $483.99 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $108.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $314.43 and a 1 year high of $556.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $510.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $475.12.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.99%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,194.27. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $537.73.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.