Riverbridge Partners LLC Decreases Position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Riverbridge Partners LLC trimmed its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 310,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,921 shares during the period. Riverbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy were worth $27,519,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 283.0% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,000 after buying an additional 956 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,522,000 after buying an additional 99,244 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,838,000 after acquiring an additional 6,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 113.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 16,188 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,370,000 after acquiring an additional 8,604 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of USPH stock opened at $90.47 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 96.24, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $92.48 and its 200 day moving average is $88.86. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.18 and a 1-year high of $113.63.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is 187.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USPH has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citizens Jmp upgraded U.S. Physical Therapy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barrington Research restated an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JMP Securities initiated coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at U.S. Physical Therapy

In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Nancy Ham sold 1,172 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.72, for a total value of $113,355.84. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,552.64. This trade represents a 51.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 20,469 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. This trade represents a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,412 shares of company stock worth $706,605 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.