Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 67.1% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,272 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 912 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% during the fourth 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $76,820,000 after buying an additional 500,066 shares in the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $112,278,000 after buying an additional 220,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 1,191.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 215,215 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $39,267,000 after acquiring an additional 198,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UHS. StockNews.com raised Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Barclays raised shares of Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.92.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In other news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,107,595.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Universal Health Services news, Director Nina Chen-Langenmayr sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.11, for a total value of $180,293.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $421,038.35. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the 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 $1,107,595.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,653,535. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 3.9 %

UHS stock opened at $215.17 on Friday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.90 and a 1-year high of $243.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50 day moving average is $227.45 and its 200-day moving average is $195.65. The firm has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is 6.78%.

Universal Health Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 purchase up to 8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Health Services 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.