Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $14.42 Million Stake in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 10.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,432 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,305 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Chemed worth $14,419,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 14.2% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 950 shares of the company's stock valued at $585,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in Chemed during the first quarter valued at about $265,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 53.3% during the first quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 161 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Chemed by 71.2% during the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,198,000 after acquiring an additional 1,486 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 108.4% in the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,876,000 after buying an additional 1,586 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Chemed from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Chemed in a research note on Friday, July 25th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $500.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chemed currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $579.75.

Chemed Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:CHE traded down $2.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $453.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 61,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,580. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $408.42 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60. The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $476.51 and a 200-day moving average of $542.28.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 25.83% and a net margin of 11.56%.The business had revenue of $618.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.47 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Chemed's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 11th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III acquired 200 shares of the company'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 acquisition, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total transaction of $4,224,162.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

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.