Patton Fund Management Inc. Invests $5.72 Million in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

by · The Markets Daily

Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS – Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 24,973 shares of the health services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,719,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UHS. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Universal Health Services in the third quarter valued at $216,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 7,635 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in Universal Health Services by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,644 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,521,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA increased its holdings in Universal Health Services by 37.4% during the 3rd quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 1,794 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Universal Health Services during the third quarter worth about $411,000. 86.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Universal Health Services

In other news, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total transaction of $3,192,479.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,107,595.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Universal Health Services news, Director Warren J. Nimetz sold 3,444 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $864,248.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Matthew Jay Peterson sold 15,141 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.85, for a total value of $3,192,479.85. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,107,595.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,970 shares of company stock worth $4,653,535 in the last three months. 16.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Universal Health Services Trading Down 0.7 %

UHS stock traded down $1.64 on Thursday, hitting $235.26. 178,126 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 662,057. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s fifty day moving average is $228.45 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.30. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.90 and a twelve month high of $243.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The health services provider reported $4.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.94. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 6.22%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Universal Health Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the health services provider to reacquire up to 8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on UHS shares. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Universal Health Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Universal Health Services in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $247.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.77.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Universal Health Services

Universal Health Services Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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