American Century Companies Inc. Has $111.98 Million Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 624,143 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 27,903 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $111,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UHS. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 179 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Campbell Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Universal Health Services during the third quarter worth $69,000. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on UHS shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $271.00 to $249.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $226.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Stephens boosted their target price on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Universal Health Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.75.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of UHS stock opened at $174.49 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.55. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.69 and a 1 year high of $243.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $11.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.71. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 owns 7,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,418,230.56. This 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Company Profile

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.