Aureus Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Aureus Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 3,147.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,939 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 29,017 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC owned about 0.20% of Chemed worth $17,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Chemed by 300.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,249,000 after buying an additional 87,449 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed during the third quarter valued at approximately $437,150,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Chemed by 19.5% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 317,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,510,000 after buying an additional 51,974 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 23.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 238,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,401,000 after buying an additional 45,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Chemed by 22.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,068,000 after buying an additional 40,358 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares in the company, valued at $62,117,555.35. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total transaction of $975,296.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,478,159.15. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,845 shares of company stock worth $3,978,798. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $572.39 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $578.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.05. The stock has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $523.33 and a 1 year high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The firm had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $612.22 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is 10.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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 shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday.

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.