KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 19,187 Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 19,187 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,443,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,518 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,951,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 41.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the third quarter valued at $308,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 86.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,047 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,820,000 after buying an additional 9,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 7,340 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays cut their price objective on Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.38.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of UHS stock opened at $184.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $181.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $197.75. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $152.69 and a one year high of $243.25.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.71. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is 4.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total transaction of $179,160.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,418,230.56. This represents a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.