Chemed (NYSE:CHE) Stock: Insider Spencer Lee Sells 1,000 Shares

Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) EVP Spencer Lee sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.61, for a total value of $547,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,931 shares in the company, valued at $7,081,144.91. This represents a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Chemed Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CHE traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $549.36. 73,522 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 159,157. The stock has a market cap of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $365.20 and a 12-month high of $562.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $516.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $467.59.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued 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 business had revenue of $690.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $685.04 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 35.18% and a net margin of 10.61%. The business’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Chemed Corporation will post 24.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.40%.

Institutional Trading of Chemed

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 3rd quarter valued at $493,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 750 shares of the company’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 5,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,795,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP increased its holdings in Chemed by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 7,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,587,000 after acquiring an additional 1,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its holdings in Chemed by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 20,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,462,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $520.00 to $620.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chemed from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Chemed from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Chemed from $590.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Chemed from $548.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chemed presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $603.00.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation is a U.S.-based company operating through two principal businesses: VITAS Healthcare, which provides hospice and palliative care, and Roto-Rooter, which offers plumbing, drain-cleaning and water-restoration services. VITAS serves patients with serious illnesses through home-based care and services in hospice facilities and other care settings. Roto-Rooter serves residential and commercial customers with plumbing and drain services, as well as cleanup and restoration following water damage.