Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Bought by First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 635 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $371,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Chemed by 27.4% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the third quarter worth $126,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in Chemed in the third quarter valued at $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CHE opened at $571.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $620.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $594.07. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $492.84 and a 52-week high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,320,654. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock valued at $10,184,531 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHE shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

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.