Legal & General Group Plc Boosts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,124,511 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,478 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $479,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $1,152,408,000. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its position 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 valued at $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.2% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,656,000 after acquiring an additional 47,960 shares during the period. 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 868,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,856,000 after acquiring an additional 3,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $529.00 to $561.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $537.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total value of $4,126,931.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,721,924.61. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of HCA stock opened at $537.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $120.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.34. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.18 and a 52-week high of $552.90. The company’s 50 day moving average is $503.07 and its 200 day moving average is $467.72.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 10.99%.

Key HCA Healthcare News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on HCA to $561 and kept a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence and suggesting upside versus the current share level. This type of analyst action often supports buying interest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: HCA system was cleared to build a freestanding emergency room despite community pushback — a win for local expansion plans and potential incremental revenue/volume growth in the market where it will operate. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published pieces highlighting HCA as a momentum and value stock and as a name with earnings growth/price strength — favorable retail/quant narratives that can attract buyers. (Multiple Zacks items.) Momentum Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference — transcripts provide detail on strategy, capital allocation and growth initiatives but offered no headline surprises that would immediately re-rate the stock. Barclays Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA also presented at the Leerink Global Healthcare Conference — additional management commentary (transcript) that reinforces the same operational and growth themes but adds incremental detail rather than new catalysts. Leerink Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA’s CIO discussed the importance of “operational quiet” for digital transformation — an execution-focused piece that underlines IT/digital investment discipline but is more about long-term efficiency than an immediate earnings shock. CIO Article

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.