Comerica Bank Reduces Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Comerica Bank decreased its stake in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,398 shares of the company’s stock after selling 484 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Chemed were worth $3,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $242,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Chemed by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 185 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,207,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Chemed by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 498 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $577.28 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $589.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $565.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.59. Chemed Co. has a 1-year low of $512.12 and a 1-year high of $623.61.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.63 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $641.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.20 earnings per share. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.74%.

Insider Activity

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total value of $615,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $62,566,139.07. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,667,345. 3.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms 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 research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th.

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.