Fmr LLC Has $143.40 Million Stock Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Fmr LLC grew its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 238,616 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 45,917 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $143,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CHE. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in Chemed by 300.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,249,000 after acquiring an additional 87,449 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter valued at about $437,150,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 19.5% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 317,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,510,000 after purchasing an additional 51,974 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 22.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,068,000 after buying an additional 40,358 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Chemed by 110.7% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 70,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,024,000 after buying an additional 36,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total transaction of $238,988.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,893.62. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 Chemed stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total transaction of $975,296.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,478,159.15. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $567.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.54 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $523.33 and a 52 week high of $654.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $577.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.06.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released 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). Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.22 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.32 earnings per share. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.11%.

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.