Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Takes $20.07 Million Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP acquired a new position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 157,931 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $20,073,000. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP owned 0.22% of Universal Health Services as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter valued at $1,063,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 203.1% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 336,856 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $7,988,000 after acquiring an additional 225,709 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,874 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $619,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.9% in the first quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 27,988 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,557,000 after purchasing an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProVise Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the first quarter worth approximately $544,000. 85.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on UHS. Bank of America upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $163.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, June 2nd. Credit Suisse Group upped their price target on Universal Health Services from $163.00 to $169.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $154.00 to $162.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.14.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In related news, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $112,776.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,944 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $415,015.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 15.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UHS traded up $3.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $131.50. The stock had a trading volume of 934,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 485,002. The company has a market cap of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.26. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.50 and a twelve month high of $158.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $139.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.18.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The health services provider reported $2.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.50 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 12.47%. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 10.27 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.31%.

About Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services, Inc, through its subsidiaries, owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. The company operates through Acute Care Hospital Services and Behavioral Health Care Services segments. Its 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.