Chemed Corporation $CHE Stock: Van Berkom & Associates Inc. Reduces Holdings

Key Points

• Van Berkom & Associates cut its Chemed stake by 25.7% in the third quarter, selling 41,849 shares; it retained 120,960 shares, valued at about $61.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 95.85% of the company.
• Chemed beat quarterly expectations, reporting $6.75 in EPS and $690.94 million in revenue, with revenue up 10.6% year over year. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $603.
• Company insiders sold 9,920 shares worth about $5.2 million over the past 90 days. Chemed also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.70 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% annualized yield.

Van Berkom & Associates Inc. reduced its position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 120,960 shares of the company's stock after selling 41,849 shares during the quarter. Chemed comprises about 2.2% of Van Berkom & Associates Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. owned 0.93% of Chemed worth $61,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chemed by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 1,046 shares of the company's stock worth $528,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP increased its position in Chemed by 121.9% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 71 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. increased its position in Chemed by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 1,343 shares of the company's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the third quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Chemed by 10.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 596 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,000 shares of Chemed 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 13,912 shares in the company, valued at $7,526,948.48. This trade represents a 6.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.90, for a total transaction of $1,075,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 82,220 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,226,138. The trade was a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,920 shares of company stock valued at $5,223,056. 3.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $520.00 to $620.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Chemed from $590.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Chemed from $548.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chemed from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $603.00.

Chemed Trading Up 2.0%

Shares of CHE opened at $538.84 on Tuesday. Chemed Corporation has a 12 month low of $365.20 and a 12 month high of $562.24. The stock's 50-day moving average is $514.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 16th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.40%.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation is a U.S.-based company operating through two principal businesses: VITAS Healthcare, which provides hospice and palliative care, and Roto-Rooter, which offers plumbing, drain-cleaning and water-restoration services.

VITAS serves patients with serious illnesses through home-based care and services in hospice facilities and other care settings. Roto-Rooter serves residential and commercial customers with plumbing and drain services, as well as cleanup and restoration following water damage.

Chemed's businesses operate across the United States.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CHE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report).

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.