AQR Capital Management LLC Has $46.81 Million Holdings in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its shareholding in Chemed Corporation by 4.5%, now owning approximately 0.53% of the company with shares valued at $46.81 million.
• Chemed recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.60, yielding an annualized rate of $2.40.
• The company's most recent earnings report indicated a EPS of $4.27, missing analysts' expectations of $6.02, despite a 3.8% year-over-year revenue increase.

AQR Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,059 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,606 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.53% of Chemed worth $46,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at $2,777,000. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Chemed by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 161 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 71.2% in the 1st quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company's stock worth $2,198,000 after buying an additional 1,486 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director George J. Walsh III acquired 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $417.10 per share, for a total transaction of $83,420.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,443.30. This represents a 6.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Trading Down 2.6%

NYSE:CHE traded down $11.89 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $446.00. 160,245 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 167,896. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $451.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $531.04. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $408.42 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.