Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 34,780 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 538,054 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 34,780 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $251,527,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in HCA Healthcare by 213.0% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 72 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $525.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Mizuho upped their target price on HCA Healthcare from $540.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Stephens cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $560.00 to $530.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. UBS Group increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $598.00 to $635.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on HCA Healthcare from $558.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $506.14.

HCA Healthcare Stock Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $396.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.12. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 52 week low of $330.00 and a 52 week high of $556.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $426.45 and a 200-day moving average of $471.57.

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

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.73%.

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.