Hound Partners LLC Cuts Stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Hound Partners LLC trimmed its position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,832 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,535 shares during the quarter. HCA Healthcare comprises about 1.6% of Hound Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Hound Partners LLC’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $12,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter worth $1,152,408,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in HCA Healthcare by 83.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,399,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $829,104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,416 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP grew its holdings 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 boosted its position in shares of HCA Healthcare by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 927,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,404,000 after acquiring an additional 59,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 868,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,856,000 after buying an additional 3,396 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,652,105.73. This represents a 52.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:HCA opened at $484.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $465.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $413.62. The company has a market cap of $110.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.36. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $289.98 and a fifty-two week high of $520.00.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday. Barclays lifted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $445.00 to $494.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $475.95.

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.