Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Acquired by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,658 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $9,627,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 18.6% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 2,030 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 18,042 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 188,765 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $43,227,000 after purchasing an additional 22,369 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 16.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,870 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,661,530 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $379,403,000 after purchasing an additional 63,754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 1.8 %

UHS opened at $175.05 on Friday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $152.69 and a 12-month high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $179.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $192.84.

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

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Stephens boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $226.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $208.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.77.

Universal Health Services Profile

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.