National Pension Service Sells 4,557 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

National Pension Service reduced its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 609,054 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,557 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $233,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $465.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Morgan Stanley set a $425.00 target price on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $495.00 to $525.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $473.53.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

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 sale, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,105.73. This trade represents a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $474.08 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $431.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $394.54. The company has a market cap of $108.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $289.98 and a 52-week high of $479.43.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The business had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.90 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 11.13%.

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.