Cetera Investment Advisers Buys 100 Shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,715 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Chemed were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Chemed by 131,200.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 166,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,606,000 after purchasing an additional 166,625 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,664,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,587,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,023,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 197.4% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 77,143 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,870,000 after buying an additional 51,206 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director George J. Walsh III purchased 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,443.30. This trade represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Chemed in a research report on Friday, July 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $500.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $579.75.

Chemed Stock Performance

Chemed stock opened at $432.47 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $491.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $547.62. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Corporation has a 1 year low of $408.42 and a 1 year high of $623.60.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 11.56%. The business had revenue of $618.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.47 earnings per share. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.28%.

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.