Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,300 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UHS. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 1,284.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 180 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.00.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE UHS opened at $208.83 on Tuesday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $127.21 and a 12-month high of $243.25. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the health services provider to purchase up to 8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 3,444 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.64, for a total value of $749,552.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,971 shares in the company, valued at $864,248.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Nina Chen-Langenmayr sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.11, for a total value of $180,293.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $421,038.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 3,444 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.64, for a total value of $749,552.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $864,248.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.