DAVENPORT & Co LLC Increases Holdings in Chemed Corporation $CHE

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 474 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Chemed by 23.0% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 150 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 113.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 271 shares of the company’s stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 1st quarter worth about $1,250,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Chemed by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 3,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,149,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total transaction of $69,508.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,397 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,574,135.83. This trade represents a 4.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,162 shares of company stock worth $5,677,511 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Chemed in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Chemed currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $578.50.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $429.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.43. Chemed Corporation has a 1 year low of $408.42 and a 1 year high of $623.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $448.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $507.92.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company earned $5.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This is a positive change from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.34%.

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.