Bank of New York Mellon Corp Grows Stock Holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 146,037 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,782 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.00% of Chemed worth $89,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in Chemed by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 501,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $265,726,000 after acquiring an additional 5,809 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,409 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,654,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 283,790 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,352,000 after buying an additional 45,174 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Chemed by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,786 shares of the company's stock valued at $141,343,000 after buying an additional 20,310 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Chemed by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 252,237 shares of the company's stock worth $133,635,000 after buying an additional 12,167 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHE. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (down previously from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a research report on Monday, June 30th.

Chemed Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of CHE traded down $5.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $459.69. The company had a trading volume of 95,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,311. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $457.44 and a 12-month high of $623.61. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $544.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $560.68. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 27.58%. 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 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total transaction of $864,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $58,335,010.65. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total value of $866,985.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,454,259.73. The trade was a 9.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $2,598,450 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

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.