Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 14.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,218 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 13,415 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $14,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,572 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $306,776,000 after acquiring an additional 52,042 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,241,340 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $222,721,000 after purchasing an additional 253,385 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 596,280 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $106,985,000 after purchasing an additional 42,088 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 590,389 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $105,928,000 after buying an additional 219,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Universal Health Services by 3.5% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 504,804 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $94,853,000 after buying an additional 16,900 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Guggenheim began coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $208.00 price objective for the company. Baird R W cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $222.00.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 1.8%

UHS opened at $165.77 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $10.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.73, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.28. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $152.33 and a one year high of $243.25. The business’s fifty day moving average is $177.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.14.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.24 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.31 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In related news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total value of $210,053.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,509,628.32. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Health Services Company 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.