Pzena Investment Management LLC Sells 11,675 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Pzena Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 394,274 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 11,675 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $70,741,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 179 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 414.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 180 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $69,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UHS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $228.00 to $198.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Universal Health Services from $275.00 to $251.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $223.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.75.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

NYSE:UHS opened at $174.34 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.59. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $152.68 and a 1-year high of $243.25.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The health services provider reported $4.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.21 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is currently 4.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Universal Health Services news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of Universal Health Services stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.