Plancorp LLC Acquires New Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Plancorp LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare, purchasing 1,624 shares valued at approximately $561,000 during the first quarter.
• HCA Healthcare's stock received multiple upgrades from analysts, including a buy rating from Wall Street Zen and a price target increase from Truist Financial to $415.00.
• The company recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, with a yield of 0.7%, set to be paid on September 30th.

Plancorp LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,791,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,175 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,097,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 872 shares of the company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,904 shares of the company's stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in HCA Healthcare by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $416.00 to $390.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered HCA Healthcare from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $403.17.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of HCA traded up $8.56 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $402.92. The stock had a trading volume of 834,067 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,533,455. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $381.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $361.70. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $420.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

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 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 business had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.