Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 34.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,320 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,061 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.12% of Chemed worth $9,176,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the company's stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Chemed by 64.7% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the company's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,279 shares of the company's stock worth $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 498 shares of the company's stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CHE. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total value of $864,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,534,135 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Chemed Price Performance

Chemed stock traded up $12.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $565.83. 121,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 101,172. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $512.12 and a 1 year high of $623.61. The firm has a market cap of $8.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $587.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $564.51.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.78 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

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

Chemed Company 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.