MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Chemed worth $4,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. American National Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in Chemed by 721.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 189 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total transaction of $975,296.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,109 shares in the company, valued at $3,478,159.15. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total transaction of $238,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,046 shares in the company, valued at $1,819,893.62. This represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798 over the last quarter. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Stock Up 0.2 %

CHE stock opened at $572.39 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $578.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.05. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $523.33 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The company has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.22 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio 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.