Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Position in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its stake in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,362 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,235 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.26% of Chemed worth $22,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Chemed during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Chemed by 54.5% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of Chemed stock traded down $11.89 on Friday, reaching $446.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 160,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 167,896. The company has a market capitalization of $6.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $451.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $530.93. Chemed Corporation has a 52 week low of $408.42 and a 52 week high of $623.60.

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

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This is an increase from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Chemed's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 150 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $463.39, for a total value of $69,508.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,397 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,574,135.83. The trade was a 4.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.