Focus Partners Wealth Buys 371 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 34.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,457 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 371 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,060 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 488 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $88,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,512 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,783,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total value of $210,053.56. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,628.32. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE:UHS opened at $186.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $180.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.12. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $153.99 and a one year high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. Universal Health Services’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UHS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $224.77.

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.