Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 72.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 840 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CHE. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Chemed by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 4.1% during the third 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 raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.8% during the second 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. lifted its position in Chemed by 7.2% during the third quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. now owns 508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $305,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 4.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 887 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.77, for a total value of $1,145,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,270,755.95. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins acquired 145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $519.50 per share, for a total transaction of $75,327.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,721. This represents a 9.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Trading Up 0.4 %

CHE opened at $555.01 on Tuesday. Chemed Co. has a 12-month low of $512.12 and a 12-month high of $654.62. The company has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.04, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $545.17 and its 200 day moving average is $562.92.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.22 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.32 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 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.