Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 23,154 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,126,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,154 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.48% of HCA Healthcare worth $480,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,152,408,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 690,773 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 5.2% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,656,000 after acquiring an additional 47,960 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6,115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 911,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $388,309,000 after purchasing an additional 896,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 868,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,856,000 after purchasing an additional 3,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $470.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Mizuho lifted their price target on HCA Healthcare from $505.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Zacks Research cut shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $525.00 to $598.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $512.43.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

HCA opened at $491.40 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $481.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $436.28. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $295.00 and a fifty-two week high of $527.55. The company has a market cap of $112.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.36.

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

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. 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%. This is a positive change from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio is 11.13%.

Key Stories 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other HCA Healthcare news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. This trade represents a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.