V Square Quantitative Management LLC Buys New Shares in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,660,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 82.9% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 75 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $504.96 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $511.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $480.37. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $314.43 and a 52 week high of $556.52. The stock has a market cap of $112.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion for 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%.HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total transaction of $2,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,411,395. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $529.00 to $561.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $494.00 to $551.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $537.73.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.