914,294 Shares in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS Purchased by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 914,294 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $199,334,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 65,203 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $14,216,000 after buying an additional 15,953 shares in the last quarter. Basepoint Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter worth about $68,000. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 549.1% in the fourth quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 36,996 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $8,066,000 after buying an additional 31,296 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,555 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 11,425 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 3,803 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UHS. Guggenheim reduced their price target on Universal Health Services from $238.00 to $211.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Universal Health Services from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Universal Health Services from $235.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $245.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $218.63.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 1.4%

UHS opened at $142.60 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $173.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.48. The company has a market capitalization of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.94, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.07. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.34 and a 52 week high of $246.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $5.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 8.56%.Universal Health Services’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.84 EPS. Analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 23.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3.33%.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is one of the largest diversified health care management companies in the United States, offering a broad spectrum of services through its acute care hospital and behavioral health segments. The company operates general acute care hospitals, surgical hospitals and ambulatory centers, as well as inpatient and outpatient behavioral health facilities. Its network provides emergency and specialized medicine, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, advanced surgical care and rehabilitation, complemented by a comprehensive array of behavioral services including psychiatric treatment, addiction programs and developmental disabilities care.

In the acute care segment, UHS’s facilities deliver services ranging from emergency department treatment and intensive care to maternity care and outpatient surgery.