Legal & General Group Plc Grows Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,124,511 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,478 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.49% of HCA Healthcare worth $479,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 8,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,675,000 after buying an additional 1,144 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 65.3% during the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 22,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,715,000 after purchasing an additional 9,006 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.6% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 503,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $214,390,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter worth about $1,426,000. Finally, Kiltearn Partners LLP grew its stake in HCA Healthcare by 8.1% in the third quarter. Kiltearn Partners LLP now owns 42,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,199,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 1.3%

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $537.78 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $310.18 and a 1-year high of $552.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $503.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $467.72.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced 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. The business 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 for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 10.99%.

Key Headlines Impacting HCA Healthcare

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on HCA to $561 and kept a Buy rating, signaling continued analyst confidence and suggesting upside versus the current share level. This type of analyst action often supports buying interest. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: HCA system was cleared to build a freestanding emergency room despite community pushback — a win for local expansion plans and potential incremental revenue/volume growth in the market where it will operate. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks published pieces highlighting HCA as a momentum and value stock and as a name with earnings growth/price strength — favorable retail/quant narratives that can attract buyers. (Multiple Zacks items.) Momentum Article
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Barclays 28th Annual Global Healthcare Conference — transcripts provide detail on strategy, capital allocation and growth initiatives but offered no headline surprises that would immediately re-rate the stock. Barclays Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA also presented at the Leerink Global Healthcare Conference — additional management commentary (transcript) that reinforces the same operational and growth themes but adds incremental detail rather than new catalysts. Leerink Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: HCA’s CIO discussed the importance of “operational quiet” for digital transformation — an execution-focused piece that underlines IT/digital investment discipline but is more about long-term efficiency than an immediate earnings shock. CIO Article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Argus boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $530.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 27th. Truist Financial raised their price target on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $537.73.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $498.09, for a total transaction of $747,135.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 30,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,194.27. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.