Millennium Management LLC Sells 83,207 Shares of Chemed Corporation $CHE

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC sold 53.7% of its shares in Chemed Corporation, reducing its stake to $44.22 million in the first quarter.
• Chemed reported a miss on earnings with $4.27 EPS against an expected $6.02, and a revenue of $618.80 million compared to the consensus of $650.60 million.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.60 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 12.34%.

Millennium Management LLC cut its position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 53.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,868 shares of the company's stock after selling 83,207 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.49% of Chemed worth $44,222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CHE. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 131,200.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 166,752 shares of the company's stock worth $102,606,000 after buying an additional 166,625 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,587,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Chemed by 249.3% in the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 130,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,015,000 after acquiring an additional 92,813 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the first quarter worth about $30,527,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new position in Chemed during the first quarter worth about $26,059,000. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CHE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Chemed from $610.00 to $595.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chemed currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $578.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In related news, Director George J. Walsh III purchased 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,469,443.30. This represents a 6.02% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total value of $69,508.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 3,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,574,135.83. This trade represents a 4.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Chemed Trading Down 2.6%

CHE traded down $11.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $446.00. 160,245 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,896. Chemed Corporation has a one year low of $408.42 and a one year high of $623.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $451.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $531.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The business had revenue of $618.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.47 EPS. Chemed's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This is a boost from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.34%.

Chemed 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.