Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 100 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,008 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 54,399 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,760,000 after acquiring an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 270,759 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $48,580,000 after acquiring an additional 59,833 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 487,904 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $87,540,000 after acquiring an additional 10,250 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,233 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 73.0% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 19,374 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 8,176 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UHS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine 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 $228.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total value of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,123,770.85. This trade represents a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 5.9 %

NYSE:UHS opened at $175.07 on Friday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.68 and a 52 week high of $243.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.47 and a 200 day moving average of $204.91. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.75%.

About Universal Health Services

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.