Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Acquires 6,456 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 48.7% during the first quarter, acquiring a total of 19,708 shares valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Universal Health Services reported $5.35 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding forecasts, with revenues increasing by 9.6% from the prior year.
• The company has announced a $0.20 quarterly dividend to be paid on September 16th, representing an annual yield of 0.5%.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 48.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,708 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,456 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $3,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 99.2% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 12,450 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,234,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 30.6% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,858 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $2,307,000 after buying an additional 3,011 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at $1,141,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 5.4% in the first quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $968,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in Universal Health Services in the first quarter valued at $74,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

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

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE UHS traded up $0.71 on Monday, hitting $173.01. 286,523 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,075. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $174.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.11. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.33 and a fifty-two week high of $243.25. The firm has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio is currently 4.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UHS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens raised Universal Health Services to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday. UBS Group set a $227.00 price target on Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America downgraded Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Universal Health Services from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $216.54.

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.