Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603,705 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,353 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.90% of Universal Health Services worth $138,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.2% during the second 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 last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Universal Health Services by 19.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 31.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 283 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UHS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Universal Health Services from $283.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.14.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS stock opened at $197.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $133.70 and a one year high of $243.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $218.02 and its 200 day moving average is $206.61.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 5.32%.

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.