Chemed Corporation $CHE Stock Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors reduced its Chemed stake by 23.3% in the third quarter, selling 16,516 shares and retaining 54,245 shares worth approximately $27.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.85% of Chemed.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but improved, with Jefferies upgrading the stock to “buy” and Oppenheimer raising its price target to $625. Chemed has a consensus “hold” rating and an average target price of $603.
• Chemed reported quarterly EPS of $6.75, beating estimates of $6.44, while revenue rose 10.6% year over year to $690.94 million. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $0.70 per share, implying a 0.5% yield.

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,245 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,516 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.42% of Chemed worth $27,398,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the second quarter worth $1,726,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in shares of Chemed in the 2nd quarter valued at $4,413,000. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC now owns 37,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,279,000 after acquiring an additional 10,226 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 12,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 53,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,083,000 after acquiring an additional 18,301 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Chemed from $548.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Chemed from $590.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Chemed from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $520.00 to $620.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Three 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $603.00.

Chemed Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:CHE opened at $533.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $365.20 and a 12-month high of $562.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $514.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.97.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.44 by $0.31. Chemed had a return on equity of 35.18% and a net margin of 10.61%. The firm had revenue of $690.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $685.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.27 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Chemed Corporation will post 24.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Chemed's payout ratio is currently 13.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer Lee sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $541.04, for a total transaction of $541,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,526,948.48. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin McNamara sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $513.45, for a total transaction of $1,026,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 66,418 shares in the company, valued at $34,102,322.10. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,653,060 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.33% of the company's stock.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation NYSE: CHE is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company that provides healthcare and residential and commercial services through two operating businesses: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter. Its operations serve customers primarily in the United States, with Roto-Rooter also providing services in Canada.

VITAS Healthcare is a provider of hospice and palliative care for individuals with advanced illnesses. The business delivers care in patients' homes, hospice inpatient units, hospitals, nursing facilities and other care settings.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.