Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,993 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,067 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned 0.21% of Chemed worth $19,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Chemed by 105.7% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 63,733 shares of the company's stock worth $40,913,000 after purchasing an additional 32,752 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the first quarter worth approximately $267,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in Chemed by 34.5% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 154,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,516,000 after buying an additional 39,633 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 170.0% in the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,080 shares of the company's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Chemed by 34.4% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chemed Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE CHE traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $572.39. 45,669 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,970. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $578.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.06. Chemed Co. has a 1-year low of $523.33 and a 1-year high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.22 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.32 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,117,555.35. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total value of $975,296.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,478,159.15. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,845 shares of company stock valued at $3,978,798 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

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.