Park Avenue Securities LLC Purchases New Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,762 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $404,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 220,823 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Universal Health Services by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 13,109 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UHS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Friday. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Barclays raised shares of Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.92.

Insider Activity at Universal Health Services

In related news, Director Nina Chen-Langenmayr sold 850 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.11, for a total transaction of $180,293.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $421,038.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Nina Chen-Langenmayr sold 850 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.11, for a total value of $180,293.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $421,038.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,970 shares of company stock worth $4,653,535 over the last ninety days. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS stock opened at $214.33 on Friday. 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 $14.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.27. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $243.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $227.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.35.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.87%.

Universal Health Services declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the health services provider to repurchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.