Chemed Corporation $CHE Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Chemed stake by 19.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,734 shares and ending with 23,457 shares valued at about $10.0 million.
• Chemed reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $5.65 EPS versus the $5.30 consensus, while revenue rose 1.6% year over year to $657.5 million.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, payable June 16, and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average target price of $501.50.

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,457 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,734 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.17% of Chemed worth $10,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 2,444,879.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,550,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,374,667,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,876 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Chemed by 122.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 499,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,856,000 after purchasing an additional 275,423 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Chemed by 13.6% during the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 385,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,435,000 after purchasing an additional 46,038 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Chemed by 29.4% during the third quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 307,275 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,579,000 after purchasing an additional 69,878 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Chemed by 23.1% during the third quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 301,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $135,142,000 after purchasing an additional 56,546 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.13, for a total transaction of $842,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 90,219 shares in the company, valued at $37,993,927.47. The trade was a 2.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 3.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Chemed Stock Up 1.1%

Chemed stock opened at $431.70 on Friday. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $365.20 and a fifty-two week high of $565.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $408.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $424.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.54.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.30 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $657.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $659.22 million. Chemed had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 27.18%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.63 EPS. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 24.000-24.75 EPS. Research analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 22.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. Chemed's payout ratio is 13.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHE has been the topic of several research reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Chemed from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Chemed from $422.00 to $436.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Chemed from $580.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chemed from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Chemed currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $501.50.

About Chemed

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.

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