Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 23,537 Shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC)

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE:EHC - Free Report) by 57.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,558 shares of the company's stock after selling 23,537 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Encompass Health were worth $1,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Longboard Asset Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 30.1% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,597 shares of the company's stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 2,218 shares in the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Encompass Health by 14.7% in the first quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the company's stock worth $5,226,000 after buying an additional 6,600 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Encompass Health in the first quarter worth about $2,778,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Encompass Health by 35.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Encompass Health

In other news, insider Elissa Joy Charbonneau sold 4,279 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.61, for a total transaction of $498,974.19. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,394,422.38. This represents a 26.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Darby sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.79, for a total value of $1,147,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,710 shares in the company, valued at $9,149,910.90. This trade represents a 11.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 132,663 shares of company stock valued at $16,034,082 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on EHC. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Encompass Health from $122.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays raised their target price 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Encompass Health from $117.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Stephens upgraded shares of Encompass Health from an "overweight" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $135.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Encompass Health from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Encompass Health currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.00.

Encompass Health Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:EHC opened at $122.09 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.60 and a 200 day moving average of $104.65. The company has a market cap of $12.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Encompass Health Corporation has a 12-month low of $82.74 and a 12-month high of $123.13.

Encompass Health (NYSE:EHC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.43 billion. Encompass Health had a return on equity of 17.63% and a net margin of 8.97%. The firm's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Encompass Health Corporation will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Encompass Health Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Encompass Health's payout ratio is 14.05%.

Encompass Health Company Profile

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.

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