First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 943 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Chemed were worth $17,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CHE. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Chemed by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 52 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Chemed by 64.7% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in Chemed by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 78 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total value of $615,330.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,679 shares in the company, valued at $62,566,139.07. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Chemed from $633.00 to $667.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $556.57 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $587.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.89. Chemed Co. has a 12-month low of $512.12 and a 12-month high of $623.61. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.49.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Chemed’s payout ratio 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.