Brighton Jones LLC Takes Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,719 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $311,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MQS Management LLC lifted its stake in Universal Health Services by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. MQS Management LLC now owns 2,682 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Universal Health Services by 28.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 40,424 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $7,323,000 after buying an additional 8,971 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 2,533 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Universal Health Services during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $87,373,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on UHS. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $210.00 to $249.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. UBS Group set a $231.00 price objective on Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Universal Health Services from $243.00 to $203.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Wall Street Zen raised Universal Health Services from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $230.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elliot J. Md Mba Sussman sold 965 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.70, for a total value of $217,800.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 6,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,379,704.10. The trade was a 13.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 16.40% of the company’s stock.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of Universal Health Services stock opened at $218.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $197.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $184.57. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $152.33 and a 52 week high of $227.22. The company has a market capitalization of $13.90 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.30.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The health services provider reported $5.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.66 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $4.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 billion. Universal Health Services had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 19.47%. The business’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.71 earnings per share. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2025 guidance at 21.500-22.100 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.92 earnings per share for the current 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.