Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,814 shares of the company’s stock after selling 503 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $1,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $27,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $422.31.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $410.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $406.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $376.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $439.01.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

About HCA Healthcare

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.