Martingale Asset Management L P Buys 587 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 73,445 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $13,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 118.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 280 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services during the 3rd quarter valued at about $69,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $208.00 price target on the stock. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total value of $179,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. This represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 5.8 %

UHS opened at $183.31 on Thursday. 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 has a market cap of $11.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.74. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.69 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.71. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is presently 4.75%.

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.