Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Sells 6,072 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,367 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 6,072 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $9,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,090,010 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $137,047,000 after purchasing an additional 37,243 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 62,949 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $7,915,000 after buying an additional 21,325 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 4,622.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,906 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,125,000 after buying an additional 16,548 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 53,239 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $8,116,000 after buying an additional 7,616 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $466,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In other news, CFO Steve Filton sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.82, for a total transaction of $6,188,700.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 16.10% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE UHS opened at $164.83 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $170.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $152.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.40. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The health services provider reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $3.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.66 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 12.08% and a net margin of 5.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.02 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UHS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays initiated coverage on Universal Health Services in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $181.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Universal Health Services from $208.00 to $203.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $170.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.71.

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.