Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases 1,119 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 335.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,453 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Chemed were worth $770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 584 shares of the company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Chemed by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 840 shares of the company's stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 353 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in Chemed during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in Chemed by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Smith Salley Wealth Management now owns 16,988 shares of the company's stock worth $9,000,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Chemed by 300.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 52 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHE traded down $5.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $576.39. 15,086 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 101,652. Chemed Co. has a 12 month low of $512.12 and a 12 month high of $623.61. The company has a 50 day moving average of $585.81 and a 200-day moving average of $564.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Investors 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 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Chemed's dividend payout ratio is presently 9.74%.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.67, for a total transaction of $1,187,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,957,441.93. This represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $4,401,120 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.29% of the company's stock.

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.