International Assets Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 10,309.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,290 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.2% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 3,120 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.1% in the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,698 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter worth approximately $46,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 8.6% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,006 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,096,000 after buying an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter worth approximately $3,878,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 1.5 %

UHS opened at $212.05 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $226.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.06. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.29. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $127.21 and a 1-year high of $243.25.

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

Universal Health Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to repurchase up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on UHS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.00.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 3,444 shares of the 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 directly owns 3,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $864,248.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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.