HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• HCA beat quarterly expectations, reporting $8.01 EPS (beat by $0.64) and $19.51 billion in revenue (up 6.7% YoY), and set FY2026 guidance of 29.10–31.50 EPS.
• Dividend increased to $0.78 per quarter (from $0.72), or $3.12 annualized, implying a 0.6% yield and a payout ratio of about 10.99%.
• Ownership moves: Asset Management One trimmed its stake by 3.2% to 72,744 shares (~$34.5M); institutions own 62.73% of the stock, while insiders have sold ~15,214 shares (~$7.8M) and now hold about 1.5%.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,744 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,436 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $34,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HCA. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company's stock worth $388,309,000 after acquiring an additional 896,437 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company's stock worth $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $115,530,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3,755.9% in the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 269,912 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,036,000 after acquiring an additional 262,912 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter valued at about $106,605,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 1.0%

HCA opened at $487.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $109.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50 day moving average is $510.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $484.17. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $314.43 and a 52 week high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company 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 firm 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. Equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.99%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total transaction of $903,528.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,853 shares in the company, valued at $4,721,924.61. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Friday, March 27th. KeyCorp set a $503.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $537.36.

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.

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