Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Purchases 144 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,928 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $2,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Chicago Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter valued at $1,170,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Chemed by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 67,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,715,000 after purchasing an additional 3,654 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Chemed by 229.2% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,110,000 after buying an additional 4,166 shares in the last quarter. Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,325,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Chemed by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,585,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Trading Up 0.4 %

Chemed stock traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $561.65. The company had a trading volume of 70,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,809. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $620.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $593.17. The company has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $492.84 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.61%.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other Chemed news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of Chemed 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 in the last quarter. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, March 4th.

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.