PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Buys Shares of 24,706 HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators opened a new position in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter, buying 24,706 shares valued at about $11.5 million.
• Institutional interest in HCA remains strong, with hedge funds and other investors owning 62.73% of the company’s shares. Several large funds, including Norges Bank and Life Cycle Investment Partners, also added or established positions.
• HCA’s operating picture remains solid: the company reported $19.1 billion in first-quarter revenue, expanded its outpatient footprint by acquiring 17 urgent care clinics, and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share.

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,534,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $1,262,513,000. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth about $374,037,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company's stock worth $717,214,000 after buying an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 4,545.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 663,337 shares of the company's stock worth $309,686,000 after buying an additional 649,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth approximately $115,530,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting HCA Healthcare

Here are the key news stories impacting HCA Healthcare this week:

• Positive Sentiment: HCA reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of $19.1 billion, highlighting continued top-line growth and reinforcing the company’s scale and demand trends. HCA Healthcare (HCA) Reports Q1 2026 Financial Growth With $19.1B in Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: HCA acquired 17 urgent care clinics in the Carolinas, a move that expands its outpatient network and could support future patient volume and revenue growth. HCA acquires 17 urgent care clinics in the Carolinas
• Positive Sentiment: HCA Healthcare-owned Galen College of Nursing opened a new campus near Space Center Houston, which may help strengthen the company’s nursing pipeline and ease labor constraints over time. HCA Healthcare-owned nursing college opens new campus near Space Center Houston
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake is hosting a ribbon cutting for a blood cancer unit, a local service expansion that is positive operationally but likely limited in near-term stock impact. HCA Houston Healthcare Clear Lake to host ribbon cutting for blood cancer unit
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional community and employee-related announcements, including a butterfly release event and leadership updates, are supportive of HCA’s brand but are not likely to move the stock materially. HCA Florida Healthcare hosts a butterfly release to honor cancer patients and their loved ones
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA also hosted emergency response team training, which reflects ongoing operational readiness but is not a major financial catalyst. HCA Healthcare hosts emergency response team training at Tristar Skyline Medical Center

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $490.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings lowered HCA Healthcare from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $503.00 to $413.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $520.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $506.14.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of HCA Healthcare stock opened at $372.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $82.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $439.51 and a 200 day moving average of $477.20. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $330.00 and a 52 week high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $19.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.09 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.89% and a negative return on equity of 295.93%. HCA Healthcare's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.45 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.07 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend 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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