Aberdeen Group plc Reduces Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 22.4%, selling 46,500 shares and owning approximately $61.6 million worth of the company as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Price T Rowe Associates, significantly increased their stakes in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter, reflecting ongoing interest in the company.
• Equities analysts have varying ratings on HCA, with price targets set between $370.00 and $465.00, indicating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of approximately $422.31.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,879 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,500 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of HCA Healthcare worth $61,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $569,217,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6,237.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,933 shares of the company's stock worth $466,815,000 after buying an additional 1,329,618 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company's stock worth $829,104,000 after buying an additional 1,091,416 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 49.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,781,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $615,583,000 after purchasing an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abdiel Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $164,835,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HCA shares. Bank of America upped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wolfe Research lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $370.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $422.31.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $414.73 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $405.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $375.85. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $439.01. The company has a market cap of $97.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.40.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%.The company had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. HCA Healthcare's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

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