Aristotle Capital Boston LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,393 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,038 shares during the period. Chemed makes up approximately 1.5% of Aristotle Capital Boston LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned approximately 0.52% of Chemed worth $41,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 501,562 shares of the company's stock worth $265,726,000 after purchasing an additional 5,809 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Chemed by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,409 shares of the company's stock worth $180,654,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 283,790 shares of the company's stock worth $150,352,000 after acquiring an additional 45,174 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Chemed by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,343,000 after acquiring an additional 20,310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 252,237 shares of the company's stock worth $133,635,000 after purchasing an additional 12,167 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,566,139.07. This trade represents a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CHE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note 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.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $576.08. The company had a trading volume of 126,666 shares, compared to its average volume of 99,783. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $590.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.49. Chemed Co. has a 12 month low of $512.12 and a 12 month high of $623.61. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.78 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.74%.

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.