Inspire Investing LLC Grows Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 26.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,594 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,724,075 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $623,840,000 after acquiring an additional 17,527 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,661,530 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $379,403,000 after acquiring an additional 63,754 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after acquiring an additional 10,578 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 603,705 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $138,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 13.5% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 346,969 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $79,459,000 after acquiring an additional 41,218 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on UHS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $226.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Bank of America began coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $223.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.14.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 2.2 %

Universal Health Services stock opened at $185.65 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $188.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.68 and a 12 month high of $243.25. The stock has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.30.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.75 by ($0.04). Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is presently 5.32%.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total transaction of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.