Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. Sells 1,899 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Per Stirling Capital Management LLC. reduced its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 75.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,899 shares during the quarter. Per Stirling Capital Management LLC.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter valued at $1,021,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,334,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $278,000. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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 Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $533.63 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $500.34 and a 200-day moving average of $465.40. The stock has a market cap of $119.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $310.18 and a fifty-two week high of $552.90.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 409.11% and a net margin of 8.97%.The business had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.22 EPS. The firm’s 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 predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Mizuho raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $585.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. KeyCorp set a $503.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Sixteen investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,944,194.27. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 directly owned 8,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,721,924.61. This represents a 16.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.30% 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.