American International Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

American International Group Inc. decreased its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 410 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Chemed worth $12,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 7.4% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 2,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,695,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 0.5% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 15,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,963,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 10.6% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Chemed in the first quarter worth about $309,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 29.3% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 179,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,184,000 after buying an additional 40,695 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.54, for a total transaction of $2,270,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 108,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,605,899.46. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $544.17, for a total value of $816,255.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 107,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,252,854.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.54, for a total value of $2,270,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $61,605,899.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,784 shares of company stock valued at $3,240,053 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Price Performance

CHE traded up $18.09 on Thursday, reaching $565.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 97,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 84,378. The stock has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.43. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $492.84 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The business’s 50 day moving average is $544.12 and its 200 day moving average is $583.59.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by ($0.12). Chemed had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The business had revenue of $595.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 30th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 30th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.61%.

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.