Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 26.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,039 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $14,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,309,000 after acquiring an additional 896,437 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $717,214,000 after purchasing an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in HCA Healthcare in the 3rd quarter worth $106,605,000. Finally, HRT Financial LP bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at about $81,596,000. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HCA has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $535.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp set a $503.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $532.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total transaction of $903,528.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,721,924.61. The trade was a 16.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,171,357.94. The trade was a 40.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,214 shares of company stock valued at $7,797,595. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA stock opened at $535.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $489.17 and a 200 day moving average of $456.86. The company has a market cap of $119.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.86, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $295.00 and a 1 year high of $552.90.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The company reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 409.11% and a net margin of 8.97%.The business’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.22 EPS. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 17th. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.15%.

HCA Healthcare 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.