Sovran Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Sovran Advisors LLC lowered its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 47.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,202 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,076 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HCA. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,309,000 after buying an additional 896,437 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during 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 during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $115,530,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 3,755.9% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 269,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,036,000 after buying an additional 262,912 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare during the third quarter worth about $106,605,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HCA has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $507.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $494.00 to $551.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $535.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.73.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total transaction of $903,528.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,721,924.61. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $483.41 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $511.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.59. The stock has a market cap of $108.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $314.43 and a fifty-two week high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 10.99%.

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.