Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Purchases Shares of 9,315 Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,315 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,671,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 3.0% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 14.4% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 516 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 31.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,032 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UHS. 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America started coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $223.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $219.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.14.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE UHS opened at $188.29 on Monday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.68 and a 12 month high of $243.25. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $187.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $207.96. The stock has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.30.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total transaction of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.