Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Sells 363 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV decreased its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 363 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Chemed were worth $1,007,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 300.0% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 52 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Chemed by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,566,139.07. This trade represents a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.86, for a total value of $866,790.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,319,148.22. This represents a 8.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,534,135. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CHE opened at $572.90 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. Chemed Co. has a 12-month low of $512.12 and a 12-month high of $623.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $589.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.09.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.78 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.20 EPS. Analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is 9.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

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.