Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Acquired by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC boosted its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 20.2% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 13,149 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,213 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $7,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Chemed by 19.5% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Chemed by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 282,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,416,000 after buying an additional 27,800 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 5.2% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 221,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,149,000 after acquiring an additional 11,036 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Chemed by 121.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 203,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,760,000 after acquiring an additional 111,399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Chemed by 20.1% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 182,776 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,329,000 after acquiring an additional 30,614 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Price Performance

NYSE CHE opened at $571.49 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $562.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $579.91. The company has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a PE ratio of 30.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.44. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $492.84 and a 1 year high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is 10.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total transaction of $1,123,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,864.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Chemed news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 284 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $540.98, for a total value of $153,638.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,270 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,004.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total transaction of $1,123,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,990 shares in the company, valued at $3,363,864.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,315 shares of company stock valued at $3,006,573 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.