Park National Corp OH Lowers Stock Holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Park National Corp OH trimmed its holdings in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,653 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $10,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,152,408,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 1,872,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,214,000 after buying an additional 690,773 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at $115,530,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 3,755.9% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 269,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,036,000 after acquiring an additional 262,912 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 1,694 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $533.37, for a total value of $903,528.78. Following the completion of the sale, 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 is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 8,020 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.58, for a total transaction of $4,126,931.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,993 shares in the company, valued at $6,171,357.94. This trade represents a 40.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 15,214 shares of company stock worth $7,797,595 over the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $541.00 target price on HCA Healthcare in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of HCA Healthcare from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $500.00 to $558.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $452.00 to $481.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $537.73.

HCA Healthcare Trading Down 0.5%

HCA opened at $499.49 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $314.43 and a twelve month high of $556.52. The firm has a market cap of $111.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $472.46.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.97% and a negative return on equity of 409.11%. The company had revenue of $19.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2026 guidance at 29.100-31.500 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 17th will be given a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is currently 10.99%.

HCA Healthcare Company 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.