Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 87,449 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 300.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 116,572 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 87,449 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.77% of Chemed worth $63,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 14.0% in 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. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Chemed by 10.6% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 219 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Chemed by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 660 shares of the company’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Chemed by 34.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. raised its position in shares of Chemed by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 2,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,317,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $582.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $569.34 and its 200 day moving average is $577.64. Chemed Co. has a one year low of $497.36 and a one year high of $654.62. The firm has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.44.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $595.88 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.34%. This is a boost from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 5,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,363,864.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrea R. Lindell sold 831 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.51, for a total value of $474,924.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,271,894.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,744 shares of company stock valued at $3,828,231. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

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.