EP Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,752 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,546,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,237 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 70.8% during the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 214,379 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $49,095,000 after purchasing an additional 88,872 shares during the period. Taika Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the third quarter worth about $1,367,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,724,075 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $623,840,000 after purchasing an additional 17,527 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 71.1% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 32,194 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $7,375,000 after purchasing an additional 13,380 shares during the period. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UHS. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $219.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 25th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $223.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.50.

Universal Health Services Stock Down 0.6 %

UHS stock traded down $1.15 on Tuesday, reaching $191.70. 458,054 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 681,779. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.22. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $139.90 and a one year high of $243.25. The company has a market cap of $12.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.75 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.90 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. Universal Health Services's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.32%.

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.