Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Sells 1,143 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lessened its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,755 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,143 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Chemed were worth $24,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Chemed in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 64.7% during the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 56 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 54.5% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 51 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 77.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in Chemed by 633.3% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on CHE. Wall Street Zen raised Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Chemed from $667.00 to $674.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other Chemed news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 16,127 shares in the company, valued at $9,319,148.22. The trade was a 8.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 1,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.33, for a total transaction of $615,330.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $62,566,139.07. The trade was a 0.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,500 shares of company stock worth $3,213,780 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.29% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHE opened at $557.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $571.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $565.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.54. Chemed Co. has a 52 week low of $512.12 and a 52 week 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 return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The company had revenue of $646.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $641.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 29th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 29th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.74%.

About Chemed

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.