BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 525,192 Shares of Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Select Medical Holdings Co. (NYSE:SEM - Free Report) by 1,965.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 551,912 shares of the health services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 525,192 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.43% of Select Medical worth $10,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SEM. AXA S.A. bought a new position in shares of Select Medical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $559,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 75,408 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 12,020 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Select Medical during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $889,000. 8 Knots Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Select Medical by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. 8 Knots Management LLC now owns 385,174 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $7,261,000 after purchasing an additional 8,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Select Medical by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,352,046 shares of the health services provider's stock worth $25,486,000 after buying an additional 153,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Parvinderjit S. Khanuja acquired 21,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.02 per share, for a total transaction of $315,420.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 65,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $977,636.78. This trade represents a 47.63% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David S. Chernow sold 225,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $4,050,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 714,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,861,288. This represents a 23.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 11.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on SEM. StockNews.com raised Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Select Medical from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Mizuho began coverage on Select Medical in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Benchmark upgraded Select Medical from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Select Medical Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SEM traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 211,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,068,978. Select Medical Holdings Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.03 and a fifty-two week high of $40.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $16.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Select Medical (NYSE:SEM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The health services provider reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. Select Medical had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 14.04%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 24.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Select Medical Holdings Co. will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Select Medical Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0625 per share. This represents a $0.25 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Select Medical's payout ratio is 18.66%.

Select Medical Company Profile

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.