Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Acquires 4,677 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,769 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,677 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Universal Health Services worth $7,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,398,974 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $427,353,000 after buying an additional 134,122 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 48.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,967,220 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $247,339,000 after buying an additional 638,166 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 12.9% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,708 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $214,710,000 after buying an additional 195,650 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.4% in the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,463,921 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $184,059,000 after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,090,010 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $137,047,000 after buying an additional 37,243 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Universal Health Services stock traded up $0.93 on Wednesday, hitting $165.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,213,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 571,994. The firm has a market cap of $11.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.01. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.12 by $0.58. The business had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on UHS shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $140.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $152.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.71.

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.