Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 13.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 959 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $95,872,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,023,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Chemed by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 283,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,352,000 after buying an additional 45,174 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Chemed by 114.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,554,000 after buying an additional 39,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth approximately $12,880,000. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Chemed from $633.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,566,139.07. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Trading Down 3.2 %

Chemed stock opened at $563.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.46, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $586.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $567.32. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $512.12 and a twelve month high of $623.61.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s payout ratio is currently 10.05%.

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.