Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Invests $560,000 in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 13.1% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 43,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,719,000 after acquiring an additional 5,092 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 626,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,051,000 after purchasing an additional 17,531 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in HCA Healthcare by 37.7% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 4,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,000 after buying an additional 1,246 shares in the last quarter. Sector Gamma AS increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 36.0% during the third quarter. Sector Gamma AS now owns 10,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,638,000 after buying an additional 2,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,084,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $507,393,000 after acquiring an additional 108,849 shares in the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on HCA. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $537.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total value of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total transaction of $2,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 44,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,411,395. The trade was a 8.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $487.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $109.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $314.43 and a 12 month high of $556.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $510.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $484.17.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The business had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.99%.

HCA Healthcare 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.