Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 58.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,961 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,870 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of UHS. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 161.3% in the fourth quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,199 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,203,000 after acquiring an additional 26,047 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 54,975 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 174.1% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 73,266 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $14,979,000 after purchasing an additional 46,535 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 187.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,201 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,039,000 after purchasing an additional 5,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clark Capital Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. now owns 331,325 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $67,736,000 after purchasing an additional 6,996 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on UHS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Universal Health Services from $235.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Guggenheim cut their price target on Universal Health Services from $238.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Monday, June 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $229.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.56.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of UHS stock opened at $161.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.08 and a fifty-two week high of $246.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $155.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $186.19.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 8.56%.The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 23.47 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 8th. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.33%.

Universal Health Services Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is one of the largest diversified health care management companies in the United States, offering a broad spectrum of services through its acute care hospital and behavioral health segments. The company operates general acute care hospitals, surgical hospitals and ambulatory centers, as well as inpatient and outpatient behavioral health facilities. Its network provides emergency and specialized medicine, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, advanced surgical care and rehabilitation, complemented by a comprehensive array of behavioral services including psychiatric treatment, addiction programs and developmental disabilities care.

In the acute care segment, UHS’s facilities deliver services ranging from emergency department treatment and intensive care to maternity care and outpatient surgery.