Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers decreased its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,878 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,406 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.39% of Chemed worth $34,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $95,872,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Chemed by 131,200.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 166,752 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,606,000 after purchasing an additional 166,625 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $61,664,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $54,587,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $42,023,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CHE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total value of $615,330.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $62,566,139.07. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $866,985.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,454,259.73. The trade was 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 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,213,780 in the last ninety days. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chemed Stock Performance

CHE traded up $1.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $561.84. The stock had a trading volume of 79,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,362. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $575.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $566.18. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $512.12 and a twelve month high of $623.61.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Chemed's revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. 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 presently 9.74%.

About Chemed

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.