Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,778 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 711 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Chemed were worth $9,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Chemed during the fourth quarter worth about $42,023,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 78.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 1,634 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd increased its holdings in Chemed by 111.5% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,709,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 4.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 335,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,820,000 after buying an additional 15,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,886 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In other news, VP Brian C. Judkins acquired 145 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $519.50 per share, with a total value of $75,327.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 1,678 shares in the company, valued at approximately $871,721. The trade was a 9.46 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 102,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,957,441.93. This represents a 1.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Chemed from $633.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th.

Chemed Stock Down 1.2 %

CHE opened at $594.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.04, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $567.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $565.52. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $512.12 and a twelve month high of $648.29.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.05%.

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.