M&T Bank Corp Boosts Stock Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 172.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 23,253 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,703 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,856,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at $1,021,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,334,000 after buying an additional 409 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,073,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 56.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 136,589 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,328,000 after purchasing an additional 49,214 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.41.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 1,500 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 30,003 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,194.27. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher F. Wyatt sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.00, for a total value of $2,020,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 44,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,411,395. This represents a 8.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and demand beat/strength: Q1 revenue rose ~4.3% to $19.11B and the company cited strong medical care demand; some outlets note the company beat profit estimates on service demand. HCA Healthcare beats quarterly profit estimates on medical care demand
• Positive Sentiment: Margins still meaningful: HCA reported a ~12% operating margin in Q1, showing underlying profitability despite a dynamic operating environment. HCA posts 12% operating margin in Q1: 8 things to know
• Neutral Sentiment: Official results and call: HCA reported EPS of $7.15 and released its earnings call transcript and press release (revenue in line with consensus). These documents give full context on volumes, mix and expense items for analysts. HCA Healthcare Reports First Quarter 2026 Results Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Volume weakness weighed heavily: Surgical volumes softened and total volumes missed seasonal expectations, which traders flagged as the main reason for the share decline despite a near-term beat on profits. HCA Healthcare stock plunges nearly 8% on weak volume trends despite Q1 beat
• Negative Sentiment: EPS/guidance miss vs. street: Reported EPS was roughly flat to estimates (small miss on some models) and FY26 guidance of $29.10–$31.50 EPS (and revenue range) sits slightly below consensus, prompting downward revisions. HCA Trading/Guidance Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Policy and longer-term growth concerns: Analysts warn policy headwinds (Medicaid/ACA subsidy rollbacks) may limit admissions growth to low single digits over coming years — a reason at least one shop trimmed upside and moved to Hold. Policy Pressures May Be Limiting Admissions (Upgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Rising expenses and margin retracement: Several reports cite higher expenses and a ~50 bps margin retracement in the quarter, which combined with volume softness amplifies near-term earnings risk. Q1 Earnings Miss on Rising Expenses

HCA Healthcare Stock Down 8.6%

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $433.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $505.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $485.06. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $321.39 and a twelve month high of $556.52.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.19 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $19.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.09 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. HCA Healthcare’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.45 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 10.99%.

About HCA Healthcare

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.