D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 8,359 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 65.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,480 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,359 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Chemed were worth $2,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Chemed by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 840 shares of the company's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 52 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the company's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.86, for a total value of $866,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,319,148.22. The trade was a 8.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.67, for a total value of $1,187,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,957,441.93. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $4,401,120 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

NYSE CHE traded up $7.54 on Friday, reaching $568.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 113,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 102,833. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $512.12 and a twelve month high of $623.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The firm's 50 day moving average is $583.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $565.34.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.78 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.20 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. Chemed's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

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.