Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,769 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,677 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Universal Health Services worth $7,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UHS. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 14.2% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 13,721 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,711 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 32,828 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,072,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 4,783 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 45.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 10,861 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after buying an additional 3,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 28,456 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,578,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $144.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $156.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Universal Health Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 68,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,162,563.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $164.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $170.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $152.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.24. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.90 and a 52-week high of $183.61.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $3.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.02 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services 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.