Aviva PLC Increases Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 11.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 177,188 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,478 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $67,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at $26,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter worth about $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HCA opened at $476.33 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a one year low of $289.98 and a one year high of $478.88. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $427.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $391.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $19.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.53% and a negative return on equity of 792.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.90 earnings per share. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of HCA Healthcare 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 owned 3,487 shares in the company, valued at $1,652,105.73. The trade was a 52.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on HCA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $449.00 to $482.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $525.00 price objective on HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $473.53.

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.