Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,910 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of Chemed worth $10,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CHE. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the third quarter worth $44,000. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 27.4% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter valued at $126,000. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new position in Chemed during the 3rd quarter worth about $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on CHE shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total value of $1,704,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,320,654. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 over the last 90 days. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $561.65 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $620.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $593.70. Chemed Co. has a one year low of $492.84 and a one year high of $654.62. The company has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $4.68 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.09 by ($0.41). The firm had revenue of $589.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $587.18 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 30.52% and a net margin of 12.36%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.61%.

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.