Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,567 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Chemed worth $4,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $973,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Chemed by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 635 shares of the company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 100,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,828,000 after acquiring an additional 3,269 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed during the fourth quarter valued at about $331,000. Finally, Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $554,000. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 200 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.95, for a total transaction of $115,590.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,991,615.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total value of $1,123,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,864.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 200 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.95, for a total value of $115,590.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,991,615.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,815 shares of company stock worth $3,822,828 in the last 90 days. 3.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chemed Stock Down 0.2 %

Chemed stock opened at $585.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $559.30 and a 200-day moving average of $580.25. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $492.84 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.43.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.59 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $595.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $599.20 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 29.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This is a positive change from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st.

Chemed 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.