Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP Purchases 1,126 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP lifted its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 214.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,652 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,126 shares during the period. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP’s holdings in Chemed were worth $875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CHE. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,023,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 4,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,886 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 136,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,149,000 after purchasing an additional 13,394 shares in the last quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,060,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Chemed by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $62,566,139.07. The trade was a 0.97% 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. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.86, for a total value of $866,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,319,148.22. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $3,534,135. Company insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHE. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE CHE opened at $556.46 on Wednesday. Chemed Co. has a 12 month low of $512.12 and a 12 month high of $623.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $588.00 and a 200-day moving average of $564.58. The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The firm had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

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.