Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Buys New Shares in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,521 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $768,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Havemeyer Place LP bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $151,000. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at about $249,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 1,172.0% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 30,440 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $6,637,000 after buying an additional 28,047 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 60,700 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $13,229,000 after buying an additional 24,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on UHS. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $235.00 to $205.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Zacks Research cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $216.00 to $190.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $229.00 to $194.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $218.63.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of UHS opened at $145.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 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 12 month low of $140.76 and a 12 month high of $246.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $199.15.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.39 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 23.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 8th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.33%.

About Universal Health Services

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.