WCM Investment Management LLC Makes New $346,000 Investment in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $346,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,023,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Chemed by 14.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in shares of Chemed by 71.2% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,198,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed by 108.4% during the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,876,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the first quarter valued at about $309,000. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CHE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (down from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th.

Chemed Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE CHE traded up $1.37 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $472.61. 90,753 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 110,862. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $469.80 and a 12-month high of $623.61. The company has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.50. The business's fifty day moving average price is $555.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.88.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.58% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.20 earnings per share. Chemed's revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's payout ratio is 9.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,454,259.73. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total value of $864,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,335,010.65. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,598,450 in the last three months. 3.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.