Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 63.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,236 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,141 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 34.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Chemed in the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st.

Chemed Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:CHE opened at $574.76 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $564.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $579.29. The company has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.44. Chemed Co. has a twelve month low of $497.36 and a twelve month high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.59 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $595.88 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $599.20 million. Chemed had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 29.21%. Chemed’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 12th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total transaction of $1,123,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,864.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Andrea R. Lindell sold 831 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.51, for a total transaction of $474,924.81. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,271,894.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.58, for a total value of $1,123,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,363,864.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,744 shares of company stock valued at $3,828,231 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Chemed 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.