Moore Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 35,926 Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Moore Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 35,926 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $6,446,000. Moore Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.05% of Universal Health Services at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of UHS. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Universal Health Services by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,675,182 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $838,821,000 after purchasing an additional 44,099 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,572 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $306,776,000 after buying an additional 52,042 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,241,340 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $222,721,000 after buying an additional 253,385 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Universal Health Services by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 624,143 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $111,984,000 after acquiring an additional 27,903 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on UHS. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $208.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $224.00 price target (down from $274.00) on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Baird R W lowered shares of Universal Health Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total transaction of $179,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares in the company, valued at $1,418,230.56. The trade was a 11.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 16.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UHS traded up $2.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $198.10. The company had a trading volume of 766,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 753,975. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.99 and a twelve month high of $243.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $185.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 EPS 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 analysts' expectations of $4.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders 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 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Universal Health Services's payout ratio is currently 4.49%.

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.