Raymond James & Associates Increases Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,918 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,654 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.45% of Chemed worth $39,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Chemed in the 1st quarter valued at about $273,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $992,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Chemed by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company's stock worth $432,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 495.0% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the company's stock worth $1,145,000 after acquiring an additional 1,881 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Chemed Stock Down 0.4 %

Chemed stock traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $641.93. 53,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 82,848. The company has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $492.84 and a twelve month high of $654.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $614.61 and a 200-day moving average of $576.72.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.25 by $0.35. Chemed had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 32.29%. The company had revenue of $585.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.64 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.39 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.40 dividend. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.93%.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other Chemed news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total transaction of $7,196,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $917,190. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,190. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.03% 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.