Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 14.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter worth about $265,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter worth about $2,777,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Chemed by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 161 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its position in shares of Chemed by 71.2% during the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America cut their target price on Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Chemed has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $592.25.

Chemed Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CHE stock opened at $462.94 on Wednesday. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $408.42 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $453.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $532.95.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The company had revenue of $618.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.47 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director George J. Walsh III bought 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,443.30. This represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

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.