State Street Corp Sells 476,776 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Key Points

• State Street reduced its Universal Health Services stake by 18.5%, selling 476,776 shares in the second quarter and retaining 2.10 million shares valued at approximately $312.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.05% of UHS.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $204.94, despite targets ranging from $166 to $197 among several firms.
• UHS reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $5.98 per share and revenue of $4.64 billion, beating estimates and posting 8.3% year-over-year revenue growth. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, yielding 0.4% annually.

State Street Corp cut its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,102,613 shares of the health services provider's stock after selling 476,776 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned 3.57% of Universal Health Services worth $312,638,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Talon Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the second quarter valued at approximately $776,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,026 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 840.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 10,643 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 9,511 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 13,061 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,942,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,878 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Universal Health Services from $204.00 to $166.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Monday, August 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $242.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $197.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $204.94.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 1.3%

UHS opened at $181.61 on Thursday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.08 and a twelve month high of $246.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 1.06.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The health services provider reported $5.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.04. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 19.39%. The company had revenue of $4.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.35 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 22.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. Universal Health Services's payout ratio is currently 3.26%.

Universal Health Services Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc NYSE: UHS is a healthcare services company that owns and operates hospitals, outpatient facilities and other healthcare organizations. Its operations are primarily focused on acute care and behavioral health services, serving patients through a network of hospitals, treatment centers and ambulatory facilities.

The company's acute care activities include general and specialty hospitals that provide services such as emergency care, surgery, inpatient treatment and diagnostic procedures.

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