Yousif Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 4.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Chemed were worth $3,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth $95,872,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 131,200.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 166,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,606,000 after acquiring an additional 166,625 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth $61,664,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth $54,587,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Chemed during the fourth quarter worth $42,023,000. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CHE shares. 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 upped their target price on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Chemed Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CHE opened at $550.29 on Friday. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $512.12 and a 52 week high of $623.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.81, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $565.56.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $641.78 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Shareholders 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 dividend yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $576.45, for a total value of $864,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 101,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,335,010.65. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 5,500 shares of company stock valued at $3,213,780 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

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.