Cerity Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 112.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 943 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 499 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Covestor Ltd raised its position in Chemed by 27.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed in the third quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated purchased a new stake in Chemed in the third quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CHE opened at $617.56 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $623.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $590.47. The company has a market cap of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $492.84 and a 52 week high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. Chemed’s payout ratio is currently 8.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

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.