Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,021 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,637 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.49% of Chemed worth $44,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chemed by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Chemed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CHE. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 price target (down from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a report on Monday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, 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.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded up $3.89 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $469.79. 59,791 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 111,500. The company's 50 day moving average is $551.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.07. The company has a market cap of $6.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.50. Chemed Corporation has a 1 year low of $457.44 and a 1 year high of $623.61.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.58% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.20 earnings per share. Chemed's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.74%.

Chemed Company 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.