Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Acquired by Bayforest Capital Ltd

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 2,768.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,302 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,152 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $808,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 52,042 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,241,340 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $222,721,000 after acquiring an additional 253,385 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 596,280 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $106,985,000 after acquiring an additional 42,088 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 59.4% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 590,389 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $105,928,000 after acquiring an additional 219,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position 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 worth $94,853,000 after acquiring an additional 16,900 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 7,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,628.32. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 16.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UHS. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $257.00 to $259.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $227.00 price target on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $224.00 price target (down from $274.00) on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, 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 on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $218.92.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UHS traded down $3.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.98. 1,130,460 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 857,754. The stock has a market cap of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.58, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $152.33 and a twelve month high of $243.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $177.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.01.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm 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 company posted $4.31 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Universal Health Services's payout ratio is 4.21%.

About Universal Health Services

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.