Royal Bank of Canada Sells 2,689,359 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare by 66.3% in the first quarter, selling over 2.6 million shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 1.37 million shares worth $472.6 million.
• HCA Healthcare reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $18.61 billion, marking a 6.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, with a 0.7% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 12.11%, reflecting its continued commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 66.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,367,613 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,689,359 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.57% of HCA Healthcare worth $472,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 53.9% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 26.9% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,314 shares of the company's stock worth $1,491,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,704,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 145.3% in the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on HCA. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $385.00 to $375.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Bank of America lowered shares of HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $394.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $444.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $401.83.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $9.09 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $420.68. 1,059,770 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,538,319. The company has a market cap of $98.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.41. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $420.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $379.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $359.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 (DPR) is 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.