Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 497 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 2.8% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 17,047 shares of the company’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $6,531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HCA. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Clearstead Trust LLC lifted its position in HCA Healthcare by 311.8% in the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 70 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

NYSE:HCA opened at $472.40 on Friday. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $480.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $433.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $396.45. The company has a market cap of $107.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.41.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 24th. The company reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 27.000-28.000 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

HCA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $400.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $412.00 to $431.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on HCA Healthcare from $430.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $474.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total transaction of $1,606,670.24. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,503 shares in the company, valued at $13,194,716.52. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael R. Mcalevey sold 3,892 shares of HCA Healthcare stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.