Simplicity Wealth LLC Grows Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 92.7% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,798 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Wolfe Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $444.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $410.83.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $437.46 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $439.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $401.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $374.10. The firm has a market cap of $102.36 billion, a PE ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.