IFM Investors Pty Ltd Grows Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,776 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lifted its position in Universal Health Services by 7.8% during the first quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC now owns 3,720 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 821.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UHS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $180.60.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Health Services stock traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $166.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 965,423 shares, compared to its average volume of 685,070. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.38. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a one year low of $119.90 and a one year high of $183.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.34. The stock has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Health Services news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total value of $6,188,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

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.