Cerity Partners LLC Reduces Stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,594 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 252 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 45.4% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 253 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 187 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC now owns 3,375 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,004 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UHS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of Universal Health Services stock opened at $157.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.24. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.02 EPS. Analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.34 EPS for the current year.

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.