Iowa State Bank Sells 50 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Iowa State Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Iowa State Bank’s holdings in Chemed were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 300.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,249,000 after acquiring an additional 87,449 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $437,150,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Chemed by 23.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 238,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,401,000 after purchasing an additional 45,917 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Chemed by 22.1% in the 2nd quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,068,000 after purchasing an additional 40,358 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Chemed by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 70,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,024,000 after buying an additional 36,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of Chemed stock traded down $3.63 during trading on Monday, reaching $531.37. 22,720 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 59,459. The company has a market cap of $8.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a 1-year low of $512.12 and a 1-year high of $654.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $549.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.89.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.76 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $606.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $612.22 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.32 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total transaction of $421,353.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,287 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,526,362.94. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.77, for a total value of $1,145,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,270,755.95. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

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.