Wealth Alliance Boosts Stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Wealth Alliance boosted its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 578 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 17 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Chemed were worth $338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Chemed by 66.1% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,476,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Chemed by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 4,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,775,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,456,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 35.5% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 4,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,905,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,190. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Chemed news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total value of $1,704,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,853,529.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares in the company, valued at $917,190. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.03% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE opened at $597.70 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $621.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $587.37. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $492.84 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.35, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.42.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.25 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $585.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.64 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 32.29% and a net margin of 12.03%. Chemed’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.39 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.99 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th.

Chemed 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.