American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 192.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,539 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 97,030 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $62,881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,309,000 after buying 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 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,214,000 after acquiring an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $106,605,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth $81,596,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. Morgan Stanley downgraded HCA Healthcare from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, December 15th. UBS Group upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.50.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5%

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $544.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $498.00 and its 200 day moving average is $463.50. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $310.18 and a twelve month high of $552.90. The company has a market capitalization of $121.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.34.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 409.11% and a net margin of 8.97%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.22 earnings per share. 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total value of $4,126,931.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. This represents a 40.07% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 44,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,411,395. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.