HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 692,411 shares of the company’s stock after selling 167,342 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $295,106,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $1,152,408,000. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,214,000 after buying an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,656,000 after acquiring an additional 47,960 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 868,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total transaction of $1,843,990.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA stock opened at $488.19 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $438.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $295.00 and a 12-month high of $527.55.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 negative return on equity of 409.11% and a net margin of 8.97%.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 business posted $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

Key HCA Healthcare News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results and market reaction — HCA reported an EPS beat and raised FY 2026 guidance, prompting coverage noting a gap up in the stock after the print. Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts boost targets and maintain bullish ratings — Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $558 (buy) and Leerink Partners increased its target to $573 (outperform), supporting further upside potential. Goldman Sachs Raises PT Leerink Raises PT TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: Additional bullish analyst commentary — Truist and Deutsche Bank analysts publicly stated expectations for HCA shares to rise, reinforcing the buy-side momentum. Truist Note Deutsche Bank Note
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and quality recognition — Multiple HCA hospitals placed on Healthgrades’ America’s 50/100/250 Best Hospitals lists, supporting reputation and referral flows. Healthgrades Recognition
• Positive Sentiment: Outpatient growth and M&A runway — Company commentary and industry pieces highlight HCA’s push into outpatient facilities and acquisition opportunities, which investors view as margin‑accretive growth. Outpatient Growth Acquisition Opportunities
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish research notes/coverage — Zacks highlights HCA as a strong growth stock based on style scores, adding to favorable retail/institutional sentiment. Zacks Growth Stock Piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts say the narrative is shifting — Coverage explores how the investment story is evolving post‑earnings/target resets; watch valuation vs. growth expectations. Analyst Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion and competitive landscape — Reporting on new ER builds and regional facility activity (e.g., southwest Florida) that may influence local market share dynamics. Local ER Story Freestanding EDs
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/regulatory risk — HCA is publicly noting it is monitoring federal policy shifts that could affect reimbursement or operations; this is a watcher for downside risk. Policy Risk

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on HCA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 27th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $423.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.76.

About HCA Healthcare

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.