Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 13,159 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,286 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,159 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.88% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $11,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC now owns 34,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,100,000 after buying an additional 8,831 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 3,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 726 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 17,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after acquiring an additional 6,736 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new position in U.S. Physical Therapy in the fourth quarter valued at about $479,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 83,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,371,000 after purchasing an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

USPH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JMP Securities began coverage on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a research report on Monday, December 16th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $113.00 target price for the company. Barrington Research decreased their price target on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $108.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Graham D. Reeve sold 1,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.11, for a total transaction of $142,050.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 7,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $588,564.48. This represents a 19.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USPH opened at $76.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.51. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.18 and a 1-year high of $113.63. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $86.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $87.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 1.78.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.04). U.S. Physical Therapy had a net margin of 3.54% and a return on equity of 8.11%. The firm had revenue of $180.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.10 million. Research analysts expect that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s dividend payout ratio is 97.83%.

U.S. Physical Therapy Profile

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.