Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 34.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,936 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 57.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 931,355 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $173,381,000 after purchasing an additional 340,966 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 329.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 404,806 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $76,081,000 after buying an additional 310,531 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 16,935.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 138,670 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $26,056,000 after buying an additional 137,856 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,555,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 113.5% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 242,500 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $45,566,000 after purchasing an additional 128,900 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on UHS shares. Bank of America cut Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $201.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $227.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. UBS Group set a $227.00 price objective on Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Universal Health Services from $243.00 to $203.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $214.08.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:UHS opened at $188.63 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $176.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.03. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $152.33 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $12.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.85 by $0.50. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 7.66%.The firm had revenue of $4.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 20.000-21.000 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is presently 4.21%.

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.