HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Acquired by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 27.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 441,124 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 95,950 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.19% of HCA Healthcare worth $168,995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $569,217,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,237.9% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,815,000 after buying an additional 1,329,618 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,416 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 49.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,781,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,583,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abdiel Capital Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at $164,835,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HCA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. KeyCorp increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $473.53.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.7%

HCA opened at $462.34 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $429.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $393.98. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $478.88. The company has a market cap of $105.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.55 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.13%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. This trade represents a 52.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Profile

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.