Blue Trust Inc. Has $33,000 Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 1,284.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $33,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,099,282 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,295,335,000 after buying an additional 57,036 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,071,022 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $315,707,000 after buying an additional 103,802 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $112,278,000 after buying an additional 220,823 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 582,809 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $88,843,000 after buying an additional 5,557 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,847 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,020,000 after buying an additional 569,096 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UHS. Barclays upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Baird R W raised Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UHS opened at $233.14 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.90 and a fifty-two week high of $233.76.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.94. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 14.91%. Universal Health Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.78%.

Universal Health Services declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the health services provider to purchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.