Insider Selling: Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) EVP Sells $866,985.00 in Stock

Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,627 shares in the company, valued at $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Chemed Price Performance

CHE opened at $571.35 on Thursday. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $512.12 and a fifty-two week high of $623.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $585.27 and its 200 day moving average is $564.84.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The company 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. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 9.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Chemed

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 597,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,454,000 after purchasing an additional 15,041 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its position in Chemed by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 521,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,712,000 after purchasing an additional 19,650 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Chemed by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 283,790 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,352,000 after purchasing an additional 45,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Chemed by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,343,000 after purchasing an additional 20,310 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CHE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

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.