HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA Stock Holdings Decreased by Truist Financial Corp

Truist Financial Corp trimmed its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 279,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,186 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.12% of HCA Healthcare worth $119,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maj Invest Holding A S boosted its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 6.1% in the third quarter. Maj Invest Holding A S now owns 338,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,272,000 after purchasing an additional 19,460 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 75,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,056,000 after buying an additional 6,250 shares during the period. Clark Financial Services Group Inc. BD raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 16.8% during the third quarter. Clark Financial Services Group Inc. BD now owns 1,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Sovran Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 37,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,902,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting HCA Healthcare

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 earnings beat and strong underlying metrics — HCA reported EPS of $8.01 (well above estimates) driven by higher patient volumes and revenue per equivalent admission, a key near-term earnings catalyst. Earnings Release
• Positive Sentiment: Big buyback and dividend increase support shareholder returns — Management added $10 billion to buybacks and raised the quarterly dividend ~8.3%, actions that tighten free float and boost EPS accretion expectations. Dividend/Buyback
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts lift price targets and ratings — Several firms bumped targets (Jefferies to $590, Deutsche to $558, RBC to $555, Truist to $546) and reiterated buy/outperform views, providing additional upside signals for investors. Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: 2026 guidance is constructive but somewhat mixed — Management set FY2026 EPS of $29.10–31.50 (near consensus midpoint) and revenue $76.5B–$80.0B (vs. ~$79.2B consensus), leaving room for upside or downside depending on volumes and cost savings execution. Guidance Release
• Negative Sentiment: Policy headwinds could subtract materially from results — Management warned of a roughly $600M–$1B hit tied to ACA exchange and Medicaid changes (loss of certain tax credits), a tangible downside risk to 2026 cash flow. Policy Headwinds
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and margin-risk commentary from some analysts — With a robust share rally over the past year, at least one note flagged that margin gains may be peaking and valuation is full, which could cap upside absent further operational beats. Analyst Caution

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HCA. UBS Group raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $520.00 to $546.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised HCA Healthcare from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $512.43.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

HCA opened at $491.40 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $481.03 and its 200-day moving average is $436.28. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $295.00 and a one year high of $527.55. The company has a market capitalization of $112.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.36.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 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 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.22 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is a boost from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is currently 11.13%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $473.79, for a total transaction of $1,843,990.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,487 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,652,105.73. The trade was a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by 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.