Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 73,308 Shares of Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Select Medical Holdings Corporation (NYSE:SEM - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,476,816 shares of the health services provider's stock after buying an additional 73,308 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.92% of Select Medical worth $41,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Select Medical by 179.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,296 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,473 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Select Medical by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,955 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Select Medical by 217.4% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,501 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 4,453 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 47.8% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,974 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthquest Corp bought a new stake in shares of Select Medical during the 1st quarter worth $143,000. Institutional investors own 89.48% of the company's stock.

Select Medical Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE SEM traded down $0.31 during trading on Monday, hitting $14.83. 830,076 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 981,618. The firm has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.07, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Select Medical Holdings Corporation has a 12-month low of $14.03 and a 12-month high of $40.98.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The health services provider reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.40 billion. Select Medical had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 2.81%. Select Medical's revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Select Medical Holdings Corporation will post 1.17 EPS for the current year.

Select Medical Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.0625 dividend. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's payout ratio is 18.66%.

Select Medical announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the health services provider to repurchase up to 42.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SEM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Select Medical in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $4,050,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 714,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,861,288. The trade was a 23.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja acquired 21,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.02 per share, with a total value of $315,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 65,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $977,636.78. This represents a 47.63% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 11.60% of the company's stock.

About Select Medical

Select Medical Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics, and occupational health centers in the United States. It operates in four segments: Critical Illness Recovery Hospital, Rehabilitation Hospital, Outpatient Rehabilitation, and Concentra.