Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Trims Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS decreased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,485 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 459 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,240,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,946 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 255.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 4,559 shares in the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 175.6% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $501,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 86.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,047 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,820,000 after buying an additional 9,755 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $274,248,000 after acquiring an additional 10,578 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total transaction of $179,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. The trade was a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Universal Health Services stock opened at $182.24 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $181.78 and a 200-day moving average of $198.15. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.69 and a 52-week high of $243.25.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. As a group, analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.75%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.75.

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.