Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 665,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66,877 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.29% of HCA Healthcare worth $283,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% in the 3rd 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 holdings 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 acquiring an additional 690,773 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth about $109,337,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $81,596,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

NYSE HCA opened at $501.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $442.72. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $295.00 and a fifty-two week high of $527.55. The stock has a market cap of $114.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.22 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HCA. Stephens increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $555.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $525.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $521.55.

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.