Barclays PLC Trims Stake in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Barclays PLC lowered its position in U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH - Free Report) by 92.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,709 shares of the company's stock after selling 316,718 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned about 0.18% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of USPH. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy by 283.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,842 shares of the company's stock worth $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 12,445 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 57.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,000 after purchasing an additional 956 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 17.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 667,868 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,522,000 after purchasing an additional 99,244 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 12.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 57,166 shares of the company's stock worth $4,838,000 after buying an additional 6,154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 157,052 shares of the company's stock worth $14,515,000 after buying an additional 5,111 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

USPH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barrington Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $108.00 target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Bank of America raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $100.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on U.S. Physical Therapy from $117.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. JMP Securities assumed coverage on U.S. Physical Therapy in a research note on Monday, December 16th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $113.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citizens Jmp raised shares of U.S. Physical Therapy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.00.

U.S. Physical Therapy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:USPH traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $91.87. The stock had a trading volume of 93,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 94,380. The business's 50 day moving average price is $91.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.58. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.18 and a 1 year high of $113.63. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 97.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

U.S. Physical Therapy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. U.S. Physical Therapy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 187.23%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Nancy Ham sold 1,172 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.72, for a total transaction of $113,355.84. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,552.64. This represents a 51.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Carey P. Hendrickson sold 516 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.25, for a total transaction of $49,665.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,469 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,970,141.25. The trade was a 2.46 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,412 shares of company stock worth $706,605. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.