Wealth Alliance Increases Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Wealth Alliance boosted its position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 578 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Chemed were worth $338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Chemed during the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chemed by 155.6% in the 1st quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Chemed by 2,283.3% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $597.70 on Friday. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $492.84 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $621.80 and a 200-day moving average of $587.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.42.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.25 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $585.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.64 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 32.29%. The company’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.39 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.27%. Chemed’s payout ratio is currently 8.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CHE. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,190. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Chemed news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,190. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,808 shares of company stock valued at $10,184,531. 4.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.