Valley National Advisers Inc. Increases Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6,457.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,787 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,714 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised 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 valued at $717,214,000 after buying an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. Abdiel Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth about $164,835,000. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $109,337,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $417.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, October 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $495.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $505.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $445.00 to $494.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $479.00.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $477.30 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $475.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $420.43. The stock has a market cap of $108.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1-year low of $289.98 and a 1-year high of $520.00.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 792.25% and a net margin of 8.53%.The company had revenue of $19.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.90 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. Research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.13%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. This represents a 52.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.