Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Takes Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare, purchasing 42,523 shares valued at approximately $14.69 million in the first quarter.
• HCA Healthcare recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72, representing an annualized amount of $2.88 with a dividend yield of 0.7%.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for HCA Healthcare, with an average target price of $401.83 and significant updates from firms like Barclays and Bank of America regarding their ratings and price objectives.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 42,523 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,694,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 40,527.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,703,907 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,887,850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,699,713 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth $569,217,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6,237.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,933 shares of the company's stock worth $466,815,000 after buying an additional 1,329,618 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company's stock worth $829,104,000 after buying an additional 1,091,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 49.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,781,459 shares of the company's stock worth $615,583,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded HCA Healthcare from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $444.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $403.17.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA traded up $7.84 during trading on Thursday, reaching $402.20. 745,567 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,533,166. The company's 50-day moving average is $381.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $361.70. The company has a market cap of $94.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12-month low of $289.98 and a 12-month high of $420.98.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.