Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,054 shares of the health services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,733 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $5,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Universal Health Services by 42.8% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 267 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 16.9% during the third quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 727 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new position in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 9.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,004 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UHS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup raised their target price on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

UHS traded up $3.30 on Wednesday, hitting $182.21. 562,597 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 608,586. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.26. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $172.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.68.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.34 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Universal Health Services's payout ratio is 6.78%.

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.