Park Avenue Securities LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 87.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,405 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,521 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $1,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UHS. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Universal Health Services by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 255.3% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 179 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,721,000 after buying an additional 9,946 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Universal Health Services stock opened at $173.52 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.31. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $153.99 and a 12-month high of $243.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.54, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.31.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.16 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Universal Health Services to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $208.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $224.00 price target (down from $274.00) on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $224.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total value of $210,053.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,509,628.32. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

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.