Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires Shares of 4,912 Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 4,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.6% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 580,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,868,000 after purchasing an additional 14,651 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.7% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 475,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Chemed by 4.7% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 332,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,977,000 after acquiring an additional 14,814 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Chemed by 10.9% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 282,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,416,000 after acquiring an additional 27,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Chemed by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 238,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,401,000 after purchasing an additional 45,917 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $566.43 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $523.33 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $577.81 and a 200 day moving average of $565.04.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.22 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.32 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s payout ratio is currently 10.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of Chemed 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,478,159.15. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.77, for a total value of $1,145,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,735 shares in the company, valued at $58,270,755.95. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

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.