Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)

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

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CHE. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 54.5% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total transaction of $864,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 101,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. This represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,627 shares in the company, valued at $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $2,598,450 over the last 90 days. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Stock Down 1.1%

Chemed stock traded down $5.31 during trading on Thursday, hitting $466.26. The stock had a trading volume of 132,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 112,207. Chemed Corporation has a 1 year low of $457.44 and a 1 year high of $623.61. The stock's 50 day moving average is $549.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $561.45. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CHE shares. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $640.00 target price (down from $674.00) on shares of Chemed in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th.

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.