Vest Financial LLC Acquires New Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,669,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 54.5% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the company's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Chemed by 633.3% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 88 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares in the company, valued at $62,566,139.07. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

Chemed Trading Up 0.2%

CHE traded up $1.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $561.84. 79,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,174. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $512.12 and a 1 year high of $623.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $575.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.08. The firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $641.78 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. Chemed's quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.20 EPS. Analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

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.