Raymond James & Associates Purchases 3,468 Shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH)

Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. (NYSE:USPH) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,699 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,468 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.10% of U.S. Physical Therapy worth $1,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in USPH. BlackRock Inc. raised its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,203,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $267,494,000 after purchasing an additional 188,188 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,036,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,051,000 after acquiring an additional 17,156 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in U.S. Physical Therapy by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 979,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,857,000 after acquiring an additional 36,680 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in U.S. Physical Therapy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 915,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,210,000 after acquiring an additional 3,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Physical Therapy by 6.8% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 770,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,688,000 after purchasing an additional 49,155 shares during the period.

U.S. Physical Therapy Stock Performance

Shares of USPH opened at $97.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.30, a P/E/G ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.00. U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.08 and a 12 month high of $124.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

U.S. Physical Therapy (NYSE:USPH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.02. U.S. Physical Therapy had a return on equity of 8.52% and a net margin of 4.67%. The firm had revenue of $154.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $150.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that U.S. Physical Therapy, Inc. will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Physical Therapy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 12th were paid a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 11th. This is a positive change from U.S. Physical Therapy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. U.S. Physical Therapy’s payout ratio is currently 130.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

USPH has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of U.S. Physical Therapy from $99.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised U.S. Physical Therapy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Barrington Research lifted their price target on U.S. Physical Therapy from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, U.S. Physical Therapy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $125.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total value of $157,440.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 19,314 shares in the company, valued at $2,027,197.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other U.S. Physical Therapy news, Director Clayton Trier sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $42,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric Joseph Williams sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.96, for a total transaction of $157,440.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 19,314 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,027,197.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,829 shares of company stock valued at $1,141,535 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.