Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Purchased by Platinum Investment Management Ltd.

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 488 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,652 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 9,329 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth about $564,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,675,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $838,821,000 after purchasing an additional 44,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total transaction 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 $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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UHS opened at $176.22 on Wednesday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.69 and a twelve 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. The company has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $182.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.83.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.71. The business 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, equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UHS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 dropped their target price 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.