NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 17,969 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

NFJ Investment Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 53,834 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,969 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $25,133,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HCA. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA Healthcare stock opened at $387.25 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $429.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $473.48. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $330.00 and a fifty-two week high of $556.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.12.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 24th. The company reported $7.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.19 by ($0.04). HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.89% and a negative return on equity of 295.93%. The company had revenue of $19.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 30.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. HCA Healthcare’s payout ratio is presently 10.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on HCA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $558.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $525.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $506.14.

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.