Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Laurus Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,760 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210 shares during the quarter. Chemed makes up approximately 1.3% of Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Laurus Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $2,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Chemed by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,415,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,873,000 after buying an additional 21,237 shares during the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 534,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,584,000 after purchasing an additional 17,487 shares during the last quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 71.2% during the 2nd quarter. Durable Capital Partners LP now owns 457,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,814,000 after purchasing an additional 190,309 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 443,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 416,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other Chemed news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total value of $7,196,910.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,190. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total transaction of $7,196,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,422 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,190. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,853,529.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $643.65 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $612.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $575.29. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $492.84 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The stock has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 35.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $6.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.25 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $585.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $586.64 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.03% and a return on equity of 32.29%. Chemed’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.39 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.99 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. Chemed’s payout ratio is 8.93%.

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.