Hanson & Doremus Investment Management Acquires 437 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 14.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,493 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 437 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management’s holdings in Chemed were worth $2,149,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in Chemed by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 501,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,726,000 after buying an additional 5,809 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 18.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 283,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,352,000 after purchasing an additional 45,174 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,786 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,343,000 after purchasing an additional 20,310 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 252,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $133,635,000 after purchasing an additional 12,167 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.99, for a total transaction of $866,985.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 14,627 shares in the company, valued at $8,454,259.73. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,566,139.07. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $3,213,780. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE stock opened at $550.29 on Monday. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $512.12 and a 52-week high of $623.61. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $571.43 and its 200-day moving average is $565.48.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.20 EPS. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, May 29th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 29th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

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.