Cerity Partners LLC Has $4.82 Million Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 86.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,047 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,755 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $4,820,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in Universal Health Services by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 386 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,238 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 31.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 283 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS opened at $203.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.42 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 price is $216.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.94. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.70 and a 1 year high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on UHS. StockNews.com cut Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp began coverage on Universal Health Services in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.50.

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.