Woodline Partners LP Boosts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Key Points

• Woodline Partners LP has significantly increased its stake in HCA Healthcare, acquiring an additional 11,455 shares and raising its total holdings by 313.7% during the first quarter, valuing the investment at $5,220,000.
• HCA Healthcare reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $6.84, exceeding expectations, and achieved a revenue of $18.61 billion, marking a 6.4% increase from the previous year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.72 per share, reflecting a modest annualized dividend yield of 0.7%.

Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 313.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,107 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,455 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $5,220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,021,000. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 205.6% during the 4th quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 2,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $601,000 after acquiring an additional 1,347 shares during the period. Man Group plc raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 84,156 shares of the company's stock worth $25,259,000 after buying an additional 8,972 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 29,767 shares of the company's stock worth $8,935,000 after buying an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raiffeisen Bank International AG purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter worth about $1,185,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HCA. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $423.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $444.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Stephens raised shares of HCA Healthcare to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of 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 issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $403.17.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE HCA traded down $3.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $399.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,319,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,527,403. The business's 50-day moving average is $383.38 and its 200-day moving average is $364.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock has a market cap of $93.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.41. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $420.98.

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

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.11%.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value of $1,606,670.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.