Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $230,000 Stock Holdings in Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC)

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Encompass Health Co. (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 1,147.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,494 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 44.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $374,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Encompass Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $380,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Encompass Health by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 293 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 97.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Encompass Health news, CEO Mark J. Tarr sold 118,384 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.53, for a total transaction of $14,387,207.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 527,070 shares in the company, valued at $64,054,817.10. This trade represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 4,279 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.61, for a total value of $498,974.19. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,394,422.38. This trade represents a 26.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,663 shares of company stock worth $16,034,082. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Encompass Health Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of EHC traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $118.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 388,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 698,046. The firm has a market cap of $11.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.91. Encompass Health Co. has a 1-year low of $82.74 and a 1-year high of $121.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.42.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.56% and a net margin of 8.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Encompass Health Co. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. Encompass Health's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EHC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Encompass Health in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $118.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Encompass Health from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $120.86.

About Encompass Health

Encompass Health Corporation provides post-acute healthcare services in the United States and Puerto Rico. It owns and operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals that provide medical, nursing, therapy, and ancillary services. The company provides specialized rehabilitative treatment on an inpatient basis to patients who have experienced physical or cognitive disabilities or injuries due to medical conditions, such as strokes, hip fractures, and various debilitating neurological conditions.