Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Increases Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its HCA Healthcare stake by 26.4% in the first quarter, buying 3,503 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 16,771 shares worth about $7.94 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and overall hedge funds and institutions own 62.73% of HCA Healthcare’s stock.
• Analyst sentiment remains mostly positive but has softened slightly: HCA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” with a consensus target price of $486.14, while the shares recently traded down 3.7% after the company reported earnings that slightly missed EPS estimates.

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 26.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,771 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,503 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $7,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,699,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 113.1% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 620 shares of the company's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 186.1% in the first quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH now owns 1,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 4.4% during the first quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 23,100 shares of the company's stock worth $10,925,000 after purchasing an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,103,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut HCA Healthcare from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $534.00 to $435.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Argus reduced their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $500.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $486.14.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 3.7%

NYSE:HCA opened at $371.60 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $392.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $457.05. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $330.00 and a 12-month high of $556.52. The firm has a market cap of $82.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $19.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.09 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.89% and a negative return on equity of 295.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.45 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. Research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 29.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th were issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is currently 10.73%.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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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