D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 99.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,450 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,200 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Choreo LLC raised its holdings in 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 period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 3,060 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,266 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 488 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $88,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,512 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $208.00 price target on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on Universal Health Services from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W cut Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $224.77.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of Universal Health Services stock traded down $0.36 on Friday, hitting $186.29. 439,357 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 753,435. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $180.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $185.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.99 and a 52 week high of $243.25. The company has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total transaction of $210,053.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,884 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,509,628.32. This represents a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.