Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $66.96 Million Holdings in Universal Health Services, Inc. $UHS

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 374,155 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,333 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Universal Health Services were worth $66,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BTC Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Universal Health Services by 161.3% during the 4th quarter. BTC Capital Management Inc. now owns 42,199 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $9,203,000 after purchasing an additional 26,047 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 51.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 54,975 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $11,988,000 after purchasing an additional 18,652 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Universal Health Services by 380.3% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 137,575 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $29,994,000 after purchasing an additional 108,931 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its holdings in Universal Health Services by 155.1% during the 4th quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,200 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $2,442,000 after buying an additional 6,810 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Universal Health Services by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 119,385 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $26,250,000 after buying an additional 6,022 shares in the last quarter. 86.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UHS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of Universal Health Services from $261.00 to $230.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Universal Health Services from $235.00 to $205.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on Universal Health Services from $211.00 to $195.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Universal Health Services from $165.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Universal Health Services from $241.00 to $204.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Universal Health Services presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $213.73.

Universal Health Services Stock Performance

UHS opened at $159.40 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $179.11. Universal Health Services, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.08 and a 52-week high of $246.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.07.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The health services provider reported $5.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.58 billion. Universal Health Services had a return on equity of 19.57% and a net margin of 8.56%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.35 EPS. Universal Health Services has set its FY 2026 guidance at 22.280-23.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Universal Health Services, Inc. will post 23.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Universal Health Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. Universal Health Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.33%.

Universal Health Services Profile

Universal Health Services, Inc (NYSE: UHS) is one of the largest diversified health care management companies in the United States, offering a broad spectrum of services through its acute care hospital and behavioral health segments. The company operates general acute care hospitals, surgical hospitals and ambulatory centers, as well as inpatient and outpatient behavioral health facilities. Its network provides emergency and specialized medicine, diagnostic imaging, laboratory services, advanced surgical care and rehabilitation, complemented by a comprehensive array of behavioral services including psychiatric treatment, addiction programs and developmental disabilities care.

In the acute care segment, UHS’s facilities deliver services ranging from emergency department treatment and intensive care to maternity care and outpatient surgery.