Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,126 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.06% of HCA Healthcare worth $60,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 311.8% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 70 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 82.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth $44,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 179.5% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Sixteen 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total value of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at $6,171,357.94. This represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $14,944,194.27. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Key HCA Healthcare News

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 Down 0.2%

Shares of HCA opened at $533.63 on Monday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.18 and a 52-week high of $552.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $500.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.79.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 10.15%.

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.