BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 4,202 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 57.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,487 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,202 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,124,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 32,501.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 570,847 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $87,020,000 after purchasing an additional 569,096 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 12,924.9% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 503,935 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $76,820,000 after buying an additional 500,066 shares during the last quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC bought a new position in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,010,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 736,542 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $112,278,000 after buying an additional 220,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 357.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 261,221 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $48,308,000 after acquiring an additional 204,178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS stock opened at $229.92 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.56. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.90 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.94. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.78%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on UHS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $219.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Monday, August 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.92.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In related news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 2,535 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total value of $531,209.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,343,844.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Eileen C. Mcdonnell sold 2,535 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.55, for a total value of $531,209.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,343,844.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 3,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.64, for a total transaction of $749,552.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $864,248.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,970 shares of company stock valued at $4,653,535. 16.10% of the stock is currently 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.