New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 500 Shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,172 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Chemed worth $8,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 4th quarter worth about $95,872,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Chemed by 131,200.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 166,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,606,000 after purchasing an additional 166,625 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth about $61,664,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth about $54,587,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth about $42,023,000. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total transaction of $864,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 14,627 shares in the company, valued at $8,454,259.73. This trade represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock worth $2,598,450 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $640.00 price target (down previously from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 30th.

Chemed Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:CHE opened at $472.61 on Friday. Chemed Corporation has a 52 week low of $469.80 and a 52 week high of $623.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $555.54 and a 200 day moving average of $562.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 27.58%. The business had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.20 EPS. Chemed’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. Chemed’s payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Chemed Profile

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.