XTX Topco Ltd Lowers Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

XTX Topco Ltd reduced its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 48.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,876 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 5,502 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $1,054,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,946 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 255.3% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 175.6% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 43.3% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,467,000 after acquiring an additional 2,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $175.30 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $192.04. The stock has a market cap of $11.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.66, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.21. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.69 and a 12-month high of $243.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. As a group, research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on UHS shares. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $208.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.92.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In related news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total transaction of $179,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. This represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. It operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. The company's hospitals offer general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic and coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and/or behavioral health services.