Fmr LLC Boosts Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 238,616 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 45,917 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 1.59% of Chemed worth $143,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Chemed by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter valued at about $61,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 183 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 721.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Chemed Stock Performance

CHE traded up $2.95 on Wednesday, hitting $569.80. 50,588 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,740. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $576.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.09. Chemed Co. has a 12 month low of $523.33 and a 12 month high of $654.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.58 billion, a PE ratio of 28.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.22 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. Chemed's revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total transaction of $238,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,046 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,819,893.62. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total value 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. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,845 shares of company stock valued at $3,978,798. Company insiders own 3.32% 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.