Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $716,000 Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,352 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $8,976,000. BLI Banque de Luxembourg Investments acquired a new position in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter worth about $14,783,000. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 23,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,384,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 40,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,561,000 after purchasing an additional 7,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 112.9% during the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 10,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,542,000 after purchasing an additional 5,548 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $577.86, for a total value of $866,790.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,319,148.22. This represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.67, for a total transaction of $1,187,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 102,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,957,441.93. This trade represents a 1.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $3,534,135. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Price Performance

Chemed stock opened at $555.57 on Thursday. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $512.12 and a fifty-two week high of $623.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $587.20 and its 200-day moving average is $564.51.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.59 by $0.04. Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. The business had revenue of $646.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.20 EPS. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.74%.

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.