DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $9.94 Million Stock Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main lessened its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 69.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 55,374 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 125,585 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $9,935,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Universal Health Services by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 4,675,182 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $838,821,000 after purchasing an additional 44,099 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,713,572 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $306,776,000 after buying an additional 52,042 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,241,340 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $222,721,000 after buying an additional 253,385 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 0.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,197,537 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $274,248,000 after buying an additional 10,578 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 624,143 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $111,984,000 after acquiring an additional 27,903 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on UHS shares. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $208.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Universal Health Services from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Universal Health Services from $249.00 to $257.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $201.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $224.77.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.16, for a total value of $179,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,418,230.56. This trade represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE:UHS opened at $181.73 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $176.82 and its 200 day moving average is $186.24. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.99 and a 12 month high of $243.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The health services provider reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.36 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.16 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The business’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.49%.

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.