Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Position in Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 2,101.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,188 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,591 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $23,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of UHS. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Universal Health Services by 541.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,469 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $5,604,000 after purchasing an additional 20,652 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 1.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 5,704 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Universal Health Services by 8.1% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 8,674 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $1,986,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Universal Health Services by 6.3% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,881 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Sivik Global Healthcare LLC boosted its position in Universal Health Services by 12.5% in the third quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $10,305,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UHS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on 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. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $283.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Universal Health Services from $236.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Universal Health Services in a report on Friday, October 11th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Universal Health Services from $200.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.14.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

Shares of UHS opened at $201.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.29. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.74 and a 52-week high of $243.25. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $221.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $205.11.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The health services provider reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $3.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 15.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, July 24th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the health services provider to repurchase up to 8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Universal Health Services Company 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.