Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,303 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 2,535 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total value of $531,209.25. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,844.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 2,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total value of $531,209.25. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,343,844.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,595.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,653,535. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 1.7 %

UHS opened at $233.14 on Friday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $233.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.28. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $199.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.00.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.94. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.22%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to buy up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UHS. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $236.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays raised Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.46.

About Universal Health Services

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.