Narwhal Capital Management Sells 3,115 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Narwhal Capital Management reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 29.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,335 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,115 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 1st quarter valued at $569,217,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 6,237.9% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,350,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,815,000 after buying an additional 1,329,618 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,104,000 after buying an additional 1,091,416 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 49.1% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,781,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $615,583,000 after buying an additional 587,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abdiel Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth about $164,835,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $426.09 on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $289.98 and a 52 week high of $439.01. The firm has a market cap of $99.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $402.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $374.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.21% and a negative return on equity of 7,363.11%. The firm had revenue of $18.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on HCA. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $404.00 to $401.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of HCA Healthcare from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $444.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $422.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About HCA Healthcare

HCA Healthcare, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates hospitals and related healthcare entities in the United States. It operates general and acute care hospitals that offers medical and surgical services, including inpatient care, intensive care, cardiac care, diagnostic, and emergency services; and outpatient services, such as outpatient surgery, laboratory, radiology, respiratory therapy, cardiology, and physical therapy.