U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,036,203 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,156 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 6.91% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $95,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 314.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 63,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,274,000 after purchasing an additional 47,890 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates bought a new stake in U.S. Physical Therapy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $279,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 11,702 shares of the company's stock worth $1,164,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 61.1% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 2,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 44.9% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 46,940 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,668,000 after acquiring an additional 14,547 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on USPH. Barrington Research increased their price objective on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $125.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.28, for a total value of $193,104.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,834.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Edward L. Kuntz sold 2,500 shares of U.S. Physical Therapy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.26, for a total value of $260,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $602,622.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.28, for a total transaction of $193,104.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 21,186 shares in the company, valued at $2,272,834.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,829 shares of company stock worth $1,141,535 in the last 90 days. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of USPH stock traded up $1.39 on Friday, hitting $106.43. 80,234 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 69,511. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.28 and a quick ratio of 2.28. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $78.08 and a 52 week high of $124.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.82, a PEG ratio of 5.03 and a beta of 1.39.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $154.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $150.24 million. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 4.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th will be issued a $0.44 dividend. This is an increase from U.S. Physical Therapy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 11th. U.S. Physical Therapy's payout ratio is currently 130.37%.

About U.S. Physical Therapy

U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc operates outpatient physical therapy clinics. The company operates through Physical Therapy Operations and Industrial Injury Prevention Services segments. The company provides pre-and post-operative care and treatment for orthopedic-related disorders, sports-related injuries, preventative care, rehabilitation of injured workers, and neurological-related injuries.