Olstein Capital Management L.P. Sells 7,500 Shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Olstein Capital Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 38.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 7,500 shares during the period. Olstein Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $2,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 624 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Universal Health Services by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 6,662 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 821.4% in the 1st quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,271 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $597,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Finally, Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the 1st quarter valued at about $535,000. 86.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UHS. Robert W. Baird raised Universal Health Services from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $198.00 to $236.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Universal Health Services from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Universal Health Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.57.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.27. 239,235 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 607,305. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52 week low of $119.90 and a 52 week high of $194.02. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $169.93. The firm has a market cap of $12.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.28.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.34 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 13.76 EPS for the current year.

Universal Health Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. Universal Health Services’s payout ratio is 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.