HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stake Boosted by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors increased its stake in HCA by 3.8% during Q3 to 4,959,336 shares (about 2.17% of the company), valued at roughly $2.114 billion after purchasing 179,443 shares.
• Insiders sold material stock recently — SVPs Christopher Wyatt and Jennifer Berres sold 4,000 and 8,020 shares respectively on Feb. 11 (≈$6.15M combined), and insiders disposed of 15,214 shares worth ~$7.8M over the last quarter; corporate insiders now own 1.30%.
• Earnings, guidance and analyst stance: HCA beat quarterly EPS ($8.01 vs. $7.37), set FY2026 guidance of $29.10–31.50 EPS, has a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with an average target of $534.50, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.78 ($3.12 annual, 0.6% yield).

Capital World Investors raised its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 3.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,959,336 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 179,443 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned approximately 2.17% of HCA Healthcare worth $2,113,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 311.8% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 70 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 82.9% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 75 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Compound Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 179.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 109 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 44,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,411,395. This trade represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley downgraded HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded HCA Healthcare from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 27th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $534.50.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $545.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $122.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average of $501.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $466.79. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52-week low of $310.18 and a 52-week high of $552.90.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare's previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is 10.15%.

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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