Chemed Corporation $CHE Shares Purchased by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 2,681.0% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,178 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,086 shares during the quarter. Woodline Partners LP’s holdings in Chemed were worth $35,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 520 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chemed by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Chemed by 335.0% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Chemed by 245.4% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 10,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,385,000 after purchasing an additional 7,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Chemed by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CHE. Bank of America dropped their price target on Chemed from $708.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Chemed from $650.00 to $580.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Chemed from $640.00 to $589.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $490.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $592.25.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III purchased 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $417.10 per share, with a total value of $83,420.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 3,523 shares in the company, valued at $1,469,443.30. This represents a 6.02% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 10,012 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.91, for a total value of $4,224,162.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Price Performance

NYSE:CHE opened at $462.94 on Wednesday. Chemed Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $408.42 and a fifty-two week high of $623.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $453.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $532.95. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $4.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.02 by ($1.75). Chemed had a net margin of 11.56% and a return on equity of 25.83%. The business had revenue of $618.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.60 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2025 guidance at 22.000-22.300 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 21.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Monday, August 11th were paid a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.34%.

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.