Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Bought by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 43.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 40,303 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,163 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.06% of Universal Health Services worth $7,231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UHS. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $18,031,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 24.6% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,236 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $783,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 23.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 8,900 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,646,000 after buying an additional 1,718 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 1.4% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 159,277 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $29,457,000 after buying an additional 2,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services during the 2nd quarter worth $276,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp started coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.14.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:UHS opened at $184.86 on Friday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $150.11 and a 1-year high of $243.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $190.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.39.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.32%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total transaction of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares in the company, valued at $1,123,770.85. This represents a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.