Trexquant Investment LP Acquires Shares of 5,565 Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 5,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,254,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CHE. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Chemed in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Chemed by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Chemed by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of Chemed stock traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $555.37. 45,104 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 81,717. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $600.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $595.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a one year low of $492.84 and a one year high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by ($0.41). Chemed had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 12.36%. The company had revenue of $589.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.18 million. On average, analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 30th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.54, for a total value of $2,270,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,605,899.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.54, for a total transaction of $2,270,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 108,549 shares in the company, valued at $61,605,899.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,808 shares of company stock valued at $12,454,691 in the last 90 days. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Chemed

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.