HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Holdings Decreased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• Manulife cut its HCA Healthcare position by 9.8% in the first quarter, selling 11,244 shares and retaining 103,294 shares valued at approximately $48.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 62.73% of HCA.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with 14 Buy, eight Hold and one Sell rating, but several firms recently lowered their price targets. HCA has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average target of $465.05.
• HCA exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $7.59 and revenue of $20.23 billion, up 8.7% year over year. However, the company faces legal and compliance concerns related to its Mission Hospital operations in North Carolina, while its shares recently traded near $396.15.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,294 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,244 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $48,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 213.0% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 72 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Basepoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HCA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $476.00 price target on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $635.00 to $579.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $425.00 to $380.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on HCA Healthcare from $402.00 to $387.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $465.05.

Key HCA Healthcare News

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reiterated its “Outperform” rating, signaling continued confidence in HCA’s long-term outlook despite recent volatility. Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates Outperform Rating for HCA Healthcare
• Positive Sentiment: HCA recently reported quarterly earnings and revenue above analyst expectations, with revenue growth of 8.7% year over year, providing a fundamental counterpoint to the stock’s recent weakness.
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA continued strengthening its hospital leadership team, appointing a former Banner Health physician executive as chief medical officer at an HCA Texas hospital and naming a former Oak Hill Hospital executive to lead two Tampa-area hospitals. Former Banner physician executive joins HCA Texas hospital HCA taps former Oak Hill Hospital executive
• Neutral Sentiment: An upcoming open house for HCA’s Long Point emergency room highlights local expansion and community outreach, but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. HCA Long Point ER Open House
• Negative Sentiment: A North Carolina judge cleared the attorney general’s lawsuit against HCA to proceed to trial and separately rejected a key HCA argument concerning its obligations to provide services at Mission Hospital. The cases could create legal costs, operational restrictions, or reputational damage. Judge clears path to trial for NC attorney general lawsuit against HCA
• Negative Sentiment: Dogwood Health Trust also flagged potential compliance concerns in its review of HCA’s Mission Health operations, adding to investor uncertainty around the North Carolina dispute. Dogwood Health Trust flags HCA compliance concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Mizuho, KeyCorp, Truist, and Robert W. Baird lowered their expectations or price targets for HCA. KeyCorp reduced its target to $435, reinforcing concerns about valuation, industry conditions, or legal overhangs. Mizuho lowers expectations for HCA KeyCorp lowers HCA price target Baird issues pessimistic forecast for HCA
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP announced an investigation into potential claims on behalf of HCA investors, which may further weigh on sentiment even though the announcement does not establish wrongdoing. Pomerantz investor investigation into HCA

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $396.15 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $353.13 and a 12-month high of $556.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.12. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $386.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $451.49.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 24th. The company reported $7.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.56 by $0.03. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 244.79% and a net margin of 8.77%.The business had revenue of $20.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.76 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.84 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.45%.

About HCA Healthcare

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.