181,879 Shares in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS Bought by Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super purchased a new position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 181,879 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $32,551,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UHS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $199,334,000. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 31.5% in the fourth quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 2,112,604 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $460,590,000 after buying an additional 505,575 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 100.6% in the second quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 2,560 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 426,211 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 871,377 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $189,978,000 after buying an additional 325,162 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 152.0% in the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 264,606 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $54,096,000 after buying an additional 159,617 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on UHS. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $233.00 to $212.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $267.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $238.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $241.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $214.80.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 3.7%

Universal Health Services stock opened at $153.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a PE ratio of 6.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.07. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $140.08 and a 12 month high of $246.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $152.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $182.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $5.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.21. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.56% and a return on equity of 19.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.84 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 23.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.