Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 1,870 Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,870 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choreo LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,060 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 488 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,512 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Stephens upgraded shares of Universal Health Services to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. 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 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $224.77.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Health Services stock traded up $0.37 on Friday, reaching $189.46. The stock had a trading volume of 379,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 752,265. The business's 50-day moving average price is $182.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $153.99 and a fifty-two week high of $243.25. The stock has a market cap of $12.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.31.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.36 by $0.48. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.70 earnings per share. Universal Health Services's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total transaction of $179,160.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. The trade was a 11.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Universal Health Services Company 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.