LSV Asset Management Lowers Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 930,435 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 50,340 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 1.38% of Universal Health Services worth $169,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,878,000. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,289,000. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,318,000. Finally, Pzena Investment Management LLC increased its position in Universal Health Services by 41.2% during the 1st quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 455,773 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $83,160,000 after buying an additional 132,942 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on UHS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $189.00 to $226.00 in a report on Monday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.21.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $184.43. The company had a trading volume of 420,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 612,883. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.90 and a 52-week high of $194.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.22.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. Universal Health Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

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.