Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Sold by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,140 shares of the company's stock after selling 794 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Chemed were worth $2,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 64.7% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 633.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 88 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the business'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 now directly owns 101,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $3,213,780. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CHE. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Chemed Trading Down 1.4%

CHE stock traded down $7.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $550.29. 86,775 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,025. Chemed Co. has a 12-month low of $512.12 and a 12-month high of $623.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $571.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54.

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. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.20 EPS. Chemed's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.36%. 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.