Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank cut its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 168,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $30,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,750 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 82.0% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,624 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,674,000 after acquiring an additional 14,250 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth about $852,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 189.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 360,070 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $68,532,000 after purchasing an additional 235,689 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,015 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.75.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of UHS opened at $174.57 on Tuesday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $152.69 and a one year high of $243.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $182.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $200.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. The company has a market capitalization of $11.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.71. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 4.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total value of $179,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. The trade was a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.