Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Boosts Stock Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 112.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,460 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,548 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.07% of Chemed worth $5,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,872,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Chemed in the 4th quarter worth $61,664,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter worth $42,023,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 283,790 shares of the company's stock worth $150,352,000 after acquiring an additional 45,174 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Chemed by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 74,658 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,554,000 after acquiring an additional 39,791 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total value of $615,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $62,566,139.07. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.86, for a total value of $866,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,319,148.22. The trade was a 8.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $3,534,135. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded 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 Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Chemed Stock Performance

NYSE:CHE traded up $1.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $570.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 22,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 100,267. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $589.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $565.43. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $512.12 and a 1 year high of $623.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.78 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.20 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

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 $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

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.