Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 13,106 Shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,656,615 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,106 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.65% of HCA Healthcare worth $497,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HCA. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new stake in HCA Healthcare in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of HCA Healthcare during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in HCA Healthcare by 1,250.0% in the 4th quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at HCA Healthcare

In other news, SVP Jennifer Berres sold 9,533 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $322.59, for a total value of $3,075,250.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,412 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,971,757.08. This represents a 38.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

HCA Healthcare Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of HCA stock opened at $346.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 69.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $325.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.60. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a twelve month low of $289.98 and a twelve month high of $417.14.

HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $6.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.03 by $0.19. HCA Healthcare had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 586.47%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that HCA Healthcare, Inc. will post 24.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

HCA Healthcare Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. This is an increase from HCA Healthcare’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 17th. HCA Healthcare’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on HCA. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $405.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $392.00 to $366.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare from $420.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on HCA Healthcare from $380.00 to $370.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, HCA Healthcare has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.67.

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.