Cwm LLC Increases Stake in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

Cwm LLC increased its stake in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 421 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,872,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Chemed by 131,200.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 166,752 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,606,000 after buying an additional 166,625 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter valued at $61,664,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter valued at $54,587,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth $42,023,000. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHE. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Chemed in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $640.00 price target (down previously from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a report on Monday, June 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total value of $864,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,598,450. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHE opened at $469.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $522.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $556.14. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $449.01 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 27.58%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.74%.

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.