Ascent Group LLC Makes New $258,000 Investment in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Ascent Group LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 487 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,872,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth $61,664,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth $54,587,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Chemed in the fourth quarter worth $42,023,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Chemed by 197.4% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 77,143 shares of the company's stock worth $40,870,000 after purchasing an additional 51,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $574.62. The stock had a trading volume of 79,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,140. The firm has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.04, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $580.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.90. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $512.12 and a 52 week high of $623.61.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the company posted $5.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed's payout ratio is 9.74%.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.67, for a total transaction of $1,187,340.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,957,441.93. The trade was a 1.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total value of $866,985.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 14,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,454,259.73. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $4,401,120. 3.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.