Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 843 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,340 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $1,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 86.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,047 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,820,000 after acquiring an additional 9,755 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $308,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $13,496,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 11,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 3,032 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UHS shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.50.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 1.3 %

UHS stock opened at $203.50 on Friday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.70 and a 1-year high of $243.25. The firm has a market cap of $13.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s 50 day moving average is $216.16 and its 200-day moving average is $206.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.75 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.93 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.32%.

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.