Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 843 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 13.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,340 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 843 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $1,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 386 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 283 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp began coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $223.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.50.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Health Services stock opened at $203.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.53, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.70 and a 12 month high of $243.25. 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $216.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.94.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.75 by ($0.04). Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.93 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is 5.32%.

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.