American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 27,903 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 624,143 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 27,903 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.95% of Universal Health Services worth $111,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $9,721,000 after acquiring an additional 9,946 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 175.6% in the fourth quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc. now owns 2,792 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 86.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,047 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $4,820,000 after purchasing an additional 9,755 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UHS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Universal Health Services from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $226.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company's stock.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS stock traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $186.27. 1,006,187 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 712,557. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.69 and a 52 week high of $243.25. The stock has a market cap of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The stock's 50-day moving average is $181.84 and its 200-day moving average is $197.75.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.21 by $0.71. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio is 4.75%.

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.