Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 50,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,459 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Chemed worth $27,354,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Chemed by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 9,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,399,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Chemed by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 17,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,473,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Chemed by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at about $973,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 21st.

Chemed Trading Up 1.1 %

Chemed stock opened at $586.17 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $557.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $580.23. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $492.84 and a 52 week high of $654.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.87 billion, a PE ratio of 31.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.43.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $595.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.20 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 29.21% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.77 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.95, for a total transaction of $115,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,446 shares in the company, valued at $1,991,615.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Andrea R. Lindell sold 831 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.51, for a total value of $474,924.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,271,894.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.95, for a total transaction of $115,590.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,991,615.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,815 shares of company stock valued at $3,822,828 over the last quarter. 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.