Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 168,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.25% of Universal Health Services worth $30,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Universal Health Services by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,060 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,032 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 18.1% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 456 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total value of $179,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. The trade was a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of UHS opened at $174.57 on Tuesday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.69 and a 1-year 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.27. The stock has a market cap of $11.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.75.

Universal Health Services Company 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.