Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Purchases 646 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 76.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,486 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $914,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 54.5% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Chemed by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Chemed by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Price Performance

NYSE:CHE opened at $561.84 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $575.83 and a 200 day moving average of $566.16. Chemed Co. has a 1-year low of $512.12 and a 1-year high of $623.61.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. Chemed’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total transaction of $864,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $3,213,780 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.29% 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.