Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 26.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,282 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 26,500 shares during the period. Universal Health Services accounts for 1.3% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. owned 0.11% of Universal Health Services worth $13,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter worth $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Universal Health Services during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Universal Health Services during the first quarter valued at about $46,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Baird R W upgraded Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $189.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $198.00 to $236.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.21.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:UHS traded up $1.79 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $185.74. 106,187 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 610,513. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $182.84 and its 200-day moving average is $171.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.28. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.90 and a 12-month high of $194.02.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The health services provider reported $3.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.56. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.78%.

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.