Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Sells 941 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. reduced its shareholding in HCA Healthcare, Inc. by 2.5%, selling 941 shares, and now owns 36,619 shares valued at $14,029,000.
• HCA Healthcare received numerous upgrades from analysts, with KeyCorp raising its price target to $465.00 and Goldman Sachs initiating coverage with a "buy" rating and a target of $470.00.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.7%, reflecting a 12.11% dividend payout ratio.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,619 shares of the company's stock after selling 941 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $370.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $470.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $437.19.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $441.08 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $412.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $380.12. The firm has a market cap of $103.21 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.40. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $443.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given 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 dividend 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.

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