Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Sells 13,172 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 91.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,285 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 13,172 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of UHS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $306,776,000 after buying an additional 52,042 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,241,340 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $222,721,000 after buying an additional 253,385 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 596,280 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $106,985,000 after buying an additional 42,088 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 59.4% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $94,853,000 after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total transaction of $210,053.56. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,509,628.32. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:UHS opened at $162.98 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $152.33 and a 12 month high of $243.25. The company has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 8.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $179.82.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.85 by $0.50. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 7.66% and a return on equity of 18.22%. The business had revenue of $4.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Universal Health Services's payout ratio is presently 4.21%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of Universal Health Services to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $208.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group set a $227.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $218.92.

Universal Health Services 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.

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