Acadian Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Chemed Corporation by 4.4%, holding approximately 1.01% of the company worth $91.13 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Chemed's recent earnings report revealed that the company missed analysts' expectations with earnings per share of $4.27, falling short of the $6.02 consensus estimate.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing an increase from the previous dividend of $0.50, with an annual yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 12.34%.

Acadian Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,125 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,779 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.01% of Chemed worth $91,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Chemed by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the company's stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,352 shares of the company's stock worth $716,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 335.0% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 245.4% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,385,000 after buying an additional 7,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,779,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of CHE traded down $5.91 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $440.49. 79,972 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 141,775. Chemed Corporation has a 12 month low of $408.42 and a 12 month high of $623.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $451.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $530.54.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The company had revenue of $618.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $650.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. Chemed's payout ratio is 12.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total value of $69,508.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,574,135.83. The trade was a 4.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Chemed from $610.00 to $595.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $578.50.

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.