Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Stock: Insider Spencer Lee Sells 920 Shares

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) EVP Spencer Lee sold 920 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $537.17, for a total transaction of $494,196.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,483,315.27. This represents a 6.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded down $8.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $533.46. 114,109 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 200,939. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $514.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $463.43. Chemed Corporation has a 1-year low of $365.20 and a 1-year high of $562.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.51.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The company reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.44 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $690.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $685.04 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 35.18% and a net margin of 10.61%. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 24.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This is an increase from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CHE. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Chemed from $590.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $520.00 to $620.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Chemed from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $548.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Chemed has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $603.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,726,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in Chemed during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,413,000. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC lifted its holdings in Chemed by 38.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lone Peak Global Investors LLC now owns 37,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,279,000 after purchasing an additional 10,226 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Chemed by 41.7% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 12,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,729,000 after acquiring an additional 3,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 51.5% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 53,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,083,000 after buying an additional 18,301 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Chemed

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) is a Cincinnati, Ohio-based company that provides healthcare and residential and commercial services through two operating businesses: VITAS Healthcare and Roto-Rooter. Its operations serve customers primarily in the United States, with Roto-Rooter also providing services in Canada.

VITAS Healthcare is a provider of hospice and palliative care for individuals with advanced illnesses. The business delivers care in patients’ homes, hospice inpatient units, hospitals, nursing facilities and other care settings.