Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 524 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky decreased its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,563 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 524 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $1,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 1,284.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 180 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the second quarter worth $35,000. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 414.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 180 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total value of $308,516.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. This trade represents a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on UHS. Barclays raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $256.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $226.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. KeyCorp began coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.14.

Universal Health Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UHS opened at $177.53 on Thursday. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $205.66 and a 200-day moving average of $208.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.28. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.00 and a fifty-two week high of $243.25.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.75 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 6.66% and a return on equity of 15.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.32%.

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.