Ingalls & Snyder LLC Acquires New Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 1,500 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 34,178 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,210,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 4,906.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,354 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,287 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 3,383 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 29,932 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $4,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,476 shares during the period. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Universal Health Services in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,784,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $140.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 1.0 %

UHS stock opened at $166.79 on Monday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.90 and a fifty-two week high of $183.61. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.24.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.11. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

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.