Vestcor Inc Buys 1,138 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Vestcor Inc raised its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 35.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,351 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Chemed were worth $2,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 580,316 shares of the company's stock worth $314,868,000 after acquiring an additional 14,651 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Chemed by 2.7% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 475,372 shares of the company's stock worth $257,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Chemed by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 464,354 shares of the company's stock worth $279,063,000 after purchasing an additional 3,564 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 332,757 shares of the company's stock worth $199,977,000 after purchasing an additional 14,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Chemed by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 282,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,416,000 after purchasing an additional 27,800 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total value of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,117,555.35. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total value of $421,353.84. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,287 shares in the company, valued at $10,526,362.94. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,132 shares of company stock worth $3,003,502 in the last three months. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chemed Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CHE traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, reaching $547.79. 132,951 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 86,199. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.46. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $572.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $564.79. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $523.33 and a 52 week high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chemed's payout ratio is 10.11%.

Chemed 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.