Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,267 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,890 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,267 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.07% of Universal Health Services worth $8,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,724,075 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $623,840,000 after purchasing an additional 17,527 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,661,530 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $379,403,000 after buying an additional 63,754 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 603,705 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $138,254,000 after acquiring an additional 11,353 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 487,904 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,540,000 after acquiring an additional 10,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UHS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. 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 note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.75.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE UHS opened at $167.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.68 and a twelve month high of $243.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

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

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total value of $179,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,418,230.56. The trade was a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.