HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Shares Bought by Wedbush Securities Inc.

Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 71.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,215 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at $234,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 15.5% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 7.6% in the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth about $454,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 15.8% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 33,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,949,000 after purchasing an additional 4,600 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HCA has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. UBS Group upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $473.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total value of $1,843,990.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $462.34 on Wednesday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $289.98 and a 12 month high of $478.88. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $429.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $393.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $105.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.64 by $1.32. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The business had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.90 EPS. The business’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 anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

HCA Healthcare Company Profile

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.