Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Holdings Decreased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,855 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 4,519 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.17% of Universal Health Services worth $17,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 4.1% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,398,974 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $427,353,000 after purchasing an additional 134,122 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Universal Health Services by 48.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,967,220 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $247,339,000 after buying an additional 638,166 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 12.9% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,707,708 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $214,710,000 after acquiring an additional 195,650 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 0.4% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,463,921 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $184,059,000 after acquiring an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Universal Health Services by 3.5% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,090,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $137,047,000 after acquiring an additional 37,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.64.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $169.12 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $170.76 and its 200-day moving average is $154.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $11.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.33, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.24. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.90 and a fifty-two week high of $183.61.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.34 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.