Centaurus Financial Inc. Buys 2,924 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Centaurus Financial Inc. increased its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 136.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 5,071 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,924 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $3,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CHE. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Chemed by 2.6% in the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 580,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,868,000 after acquiring an additional 14,651 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 475,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,927,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Chemed by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 332,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,977,000 after purchasing an additional 14,814 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Chemed by 10.9% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 282,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,416,000 after purchasing an additional 27,800 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in Chemed by 22.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,068,000 after buying an additional 40,358 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total value of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 103,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,117,555.35. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total value of $238,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,046 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,819,893.62. This trade represents a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,113 shares of company stock valued at $2,411,905. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE opened at $570.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $523.33 and a 52 week high of $654.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $579.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $565.16.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.22 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.32 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given 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 is Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

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.