Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $2.46 Million Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 4,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,456,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC bought a new position in Chemed in the first quarter worth about $273,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Chemed by 13.3% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Chemed by 7.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Chemed by 6.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 836 shares of the company’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Chemed by 495.0% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,261 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 2,882 shares in the company, valued at $1,853,529.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,320,654. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 over the last 90 days. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE opened at $608.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $492.84 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $621.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $587.18.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.25 by $0.35. Chemed had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 32.29%. The business had revenue of $585.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $586.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.99 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s payout ratio is 8.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CHE. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

About Chemed

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.