West Coast Financial LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

West Coast Financial LLC lessened its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,983 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,015 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC's holdings in Chemed were worth $1,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chemed by 1.9% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the company's stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 655 shares of the company's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $667,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 508 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in Chemed by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 887 shares of the company's stock worth $533,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.77, for a total transaction of $1,145,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,270,755.95. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total transaction of $421,353.84. Following the sale, 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. 3.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chemed Price Performance

CHE traded up $8.93 during trading on Thursday, reaching $555.46. 71,895 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,880. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $512.12 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $545.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $562.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.47.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $612.22 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.32 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.11%.

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.