Wedmont Private Capital Buys Shares of 1,040 Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,040 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UHS. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 19.5% in the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 386 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 31.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 2,455 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.7 %

UHS opened at $214.33 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.90 and a 52 week high of $243.25. The business’s 50 day moving average is $227.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.46. The firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.27.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.94. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.22% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.91 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the health services provider to reacquire up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.78%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In related news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,253 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,595.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,253 shares in the company, valued at $1,107,595.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Nina Chen-Langenmayr sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.11, for a total transaction of $180,293.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,985 shares in the company, valued at $421,038.35. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,970 shares of company stock worth $4,653,535. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Universal Health Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $198.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.92.

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.