Ritholtz Wealth Management Buys 932 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 10.4%, acquiring an additional 932 shares, bringing its total holdings to 9,924 shares worth approximately $3.8 million.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for HCA Healthcare, with several firms raising their price targets; UBS Group increased its target from $438 to $495 and Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a target of $470.
• HCA Healthcare recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, representing an annualized amount of $2.88 with a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,924 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 932 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $1,021,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 17.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,704,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at $999,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 14.9% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 833 shares of the company's stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Savings Bank increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 855 shares of the company's stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $438.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $470.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $444.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $370.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $431.07.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5%

HCA stock opened at $420.38 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $439.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $408.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $377.15.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare'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. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare's payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

HCA Healthcare 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.

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