Citadel Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 197.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,143 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51,206 shares during the quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $40,870,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 501,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,726,000 after acquiring an additional 5,809 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 340,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,654,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Chemed by 18.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Chemed by 8.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Chemed by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 252,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,635,000 after buying an additional 12,167 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $572.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. Chemed Co. has a one year low of $512.12 and a one year high of $623.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $589.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $565.29.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.67, for a total value of $1,187,340.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,957,441.93. The trade was a 1.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.86, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,534,135 in the last ninety days. Company 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.