Wedbush Securities Inc. Raises Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,215 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 4th quarter worth about $1,021,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.7% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 798 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 44.9% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 9.7% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,658,000 after purchasing an additional 2,718 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 18.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,283,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $462.34 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $478.88. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $429.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $393.98. The company has a market capitalization of $105.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. The firm had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.90 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on HCA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $449.00 to $482.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $485.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $495.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $473.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. The trade was a 52.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.