Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:HCA - Free Report) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,669,721 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 174,946 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.66% of HCA Healthcare worth $660,842,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HCA. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 251.9% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 39,660 shares of the company's stock worth $12,742,000 after purchasing an additional 28,389 shares in the last quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCA Healthcare by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,138 shares of the company's stock worth $2,615,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 8.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 67,886 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,810,000 after purchasing an additional 5,464 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in HCA Healthcare by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,496 shares of the company's stock worth $481,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of HCA Healthcare by 3.5% in the second quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,082 shares of the company's stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. 62.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HCA shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded HCA Healthcare from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $400.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of HCA Healthcare from $378.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $392.00 price objective on shares of HCA Healthcare in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on HCA Healthcare from $390.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on HCA Healthcare from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $387.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at HCA Healthcare

In related news, SVP Phillip G. Billington sold 3,897 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.00, for a total transaction of $1,363,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,445,700. This trade represents a 6.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Erol R. Akdamar sold 2,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $353.00, for a total transaction of $1,023,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,579. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

HCA Healthcare Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:HCA traded up $2.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $313.93. The stock had a trading volume of 1,324,512 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,204,023. HCA Healthcare, Inc. has a 12 month low of $263.22 and a 12 month high of $417.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $355.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $358.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.71. The company has a market cap of $79.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.63.

HCA Healthcare Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. HCA Healthcare's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.85%.

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.