Trust Co. of Vermont Purchases Shares of 65 Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 65 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed by 78.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 110.0% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 10,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,801,000 after buying an additional 5,572 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in Chemed by 111.5% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed in the second quarter valued at $7,812,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Chemed by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,820,000 after acquiring an additional 15,791 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut 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 raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 30th.

Chemed Stock Performance

NYSE CHE opened at $555.01 on Tuesday. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $512.12 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The stock has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $545.17 and a 200-day moving average of $562.92.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins bought 145 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $519.50 per share, for a total transaction of $75,327.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 1,678 shares in the company, valued at $871,721. This represents a 9.46 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.