Boston Trust Walden Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Boston Trust Walden Corp reduced its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 199,147 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,190 shares during the quarter. Chemed accounts for 0.9% of Boston Trust Walden Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 1.32% of Chemed worth $116,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the third quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 155.6% in the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 2,283.3% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 143 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,320,654. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares in the company, valued at $917,190. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total value of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,320,654. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock valued at $10,184,531 over the last three months. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chemed Stock Performance

CHE stock traded down $4.49 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $629.32. 35,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 79,790. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $617.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $580.33. The stock has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.12, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $492.84 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62.

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

Chemed Announces Dividend

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

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.

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