Hsbc Holdings PLC Grows Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,277 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.24% of Universal Health Services worth $29,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter valued at $86,117,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,252 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $953,000 after purchasing an additional 1,994 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 75.9% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 11,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 5,149 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 20,385 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 13.9% in the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 6,129 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UHS. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $219.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.92.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Universal Health Services stock opened at $238.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $119.90 and a 1 year high of $241.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $219.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.34. The stock has a market cap of $15.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.94. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is 6.78%.

Universal Health Services declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the health services provider to repurchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 2,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total value of $531,209.25. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,343,844.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,595.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 2,535 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total transaction of $531,209.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,844.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,970 shares of company stock worth $4,653,535 in the last three months. Corporate 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.