Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. $HCA

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 5.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,100 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in HCA Healthcare were worth $3,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chung Wu Investment Group LLC bought a new position in HCA Healthcare during the second quarter worth $27,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Cheviot Value Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of HCA Healthcare in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in HCA Healthcare during the first quarter worth about $27,000. 62.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCA Healthcare Price Performance

Shares of HCA opened at $418.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $97.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.40. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 1 year low of $289.98 and a 1 year high of $439.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $403.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $375.04.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 25th. The company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.20 by $0.64. HCA Healthcare had a negative return on equity of 7,363.11% and a net margin of 8.21%.The business had revenue of $18.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. HCA Healthcare has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.500-27.000 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 earnings per share for the current year.

HCA Healthcare Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 16th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.11%.

Insider Transactions at HCA Healthcare

In related news, EVP Michael S. Cuffe sold 3,836 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $418.84, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of HCA Healthcare from $370.00 to $465.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on HCA Healthcare from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $375.00 to $412.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $444.00 target price on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, HCA Healthcare currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $422.31.

About HCA Healthcare

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.