279 Shares in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) Purchased by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 279 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $64,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 1,284.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 180 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Universal Health Services during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Universal Health Services in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $222.00 to $211.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $283.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 3,444 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.64, for a total value of $749,552.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,971 shares in the company, valued at approximately $864,248.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 16.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Universal Health Services Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of Universal Health Services stock opened at $212.05 on Wednesday. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.21 and a 1 year high of $243.25. The company has a market cap of $14.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.29. 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 50-day moving average price of $226.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $203.06.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, July 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the health services provider to buy up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About Universal Health Services

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.