Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC Purchases 1,097 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 177.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,716 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,097 shares during the quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $109,337,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $81,596,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on HCA shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp set a $503.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $588.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $518.76.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $488.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $111.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $481.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $437.81. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.00 and a 1 year high of $527.55.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 409.11% and a net margin of 8.97%.The business had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total transaction of $1,843,990.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,105.73. This trade represents a 52.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting HCA Healthcare

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong quarterly results and market reaction — HCA reported an EPS beat and raised FY 2026 guidance, prompting coverage noting a gap up in the stock after the print. Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts boost targets and maintain bullish ratings — Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $558 (buy) and Leerink Partners increased its target to $573 (outperform), supporting further upside potential. Goldman Sachs Raises PT Leerink Raises PT TickerReport
• Positive Sentiment: Additional bullish analyst commentary — Truist and Deutsche Bank analysts publicly stated expectations for HCA shares to rise, reinforcing the buy-side momentum. Truist Note Deutsche Bank Note
• Positive Sentiment: Brand and quality recognition — Multiple HCA hospitals placed on Healthgrades’ America’s 50/100/250 Best Hospitals lists, supporting reputation and referral flows. Healthgrades Recognition
• Positive Sentiment: Outpatient growth and M&A runway — Company commentary and industry pieces highlight HCA’s push into outpatient facilities and acquisition opportunities, which investors view as margin‑accretive growth. Outpatient Growth Acquisition Opportunities
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish research notes/coverage — Zacks highlights HCA as a strong growth stock based on style scores, adding to favorable retail/institutional sentiment. Zacks Growth Stock Piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts say the narrative is shifting — Coverage explores how the investment story is evolving post‑earnings/target resets; watch valuation vs. growth expectations. Analyst Narrative
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion and competitive landscape — Reporting on new ER builds and regional facility activity (e.g., southwest Florida) that may influence local market share dynamics. Local ER Story Freestanding EDs
• Negative Sentiment: Policy/regulatory risk — HCA is publicly noting it is monitoring federal policy shifts that could affect reimbursement or operations; this is a watcher for downside risk. Policy Risk

HCA Healthcare 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.