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

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 112.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 943 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing 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 quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 10,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chemed news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the business’s 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 owns 2,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,190. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 in the last quarter. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:CHE opened at $617.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $623.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $590.47. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $492.84 and a twelve month high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

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

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.