Fmr LLC Purchases 45,917 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Fmr LLC raised its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238,616 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,917 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned 1.59% of Chemed worth $143,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Chemed by 300.3% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,249,000 after acquiring an additional 87,449 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $437,150,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 19.5% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 317,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,510,000 after buying an additional 51,974 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chemed by 22.1% during the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,068,000 after buying an additional 40,358 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Chemed by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 70,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,024,000 after buying an additional 36,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total value of $975,296.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,478,159.15. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,117,555.35. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE opened at $567.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $523.33 and a 52 week high of $654.62. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $577.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $565.06.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. Chemed’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CHE shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation provides hospice and palliative care services to patients through a network of physicians, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, and volunteers primarily in the United States. The company operates in VITAS and Roto-Rooter segments. It offers plumbing, drain cleaning, excavation, water restoration, and other related services to residential and commercial customers through company-owned branches, independent contractors, and franchisees.