Man Group plc Grows Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Man Group plc raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 307.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 178,648 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 134,810 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 0.27% of Universal Health Services worth $32,053,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 22.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 54,105 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $9,721,000 after acquiring an additional 9,946 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 255.3% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the last quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. grew its position in Universal Health Services by 175.6% in the 4th quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 43.3% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,176 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,467,000 after buying an additional 2,472 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UHS. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $224.00 target price (down previously from $274.00) on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Baird R W lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $224.77.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $196.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.99 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $178.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.57.

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

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.49%.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In related news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.48, for a total transaction of $210,053.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,884 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,628.32. The trade was a 12.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 16.40% of the company's stock.

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.

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