Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $15.29 Million Stock Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 66.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,768 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 133,144 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.10% of Universal Health Services worth $15,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UHS. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Universal Health Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. 1ST Source Bank purchased a new position in Universal Health Services during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 7,984 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,829,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Universal Health Services by 163.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 133,499 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,430,000 after purchasing an additional 82,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 208.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 12,100 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,771,000 after buying an additional 8,171 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UHS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a research note on Friday, October 11th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Bank of America began coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $223.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Universal Health Services from $285.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned 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 a consensus target price of $225.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maria Ruderman Singer sold 1,614 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.15, for a total transaction of $308,516.10. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,123,770.85. The trade was a 21.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE UHS opened at $187.40 on Monday. 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 $147.33 and a 1-year high of $243.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $207.54 and a 200-day moving average of $208.56. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.75 by ($0.04). Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 15.75% and a net margin of 6.66%. The firm had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.55 EPS. Universal Health Services’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.88 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 3rd will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 3rd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio is 5.32%.

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.