Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 72,285 Shares of Chemed Corporation $CHE

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 22.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 250,123 shares of the company’s stock after selling 72,285 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 1.88% of Chemed worth $94,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in Chemed by 2,444,879.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,550,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,374,667,000 after purchasing an additional 5,549,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed in the fourth quarter valued at $76,067,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,302,000 after buying an additional 153,469 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 1,260.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,353,000 after buying an additional 109,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 10,291.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 85,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,768,000 after buying an additional 85,107 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $421.13, for a total value of $842,260.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 90,219 shares in the company, valued at $37,993,927.47. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Andrea R. Lindell sold 1,347 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $447.33, for a total transaction of $602,553.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,047,876.74. This trade represents a 22.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 3.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CHE. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Chemed from $450.00 to $510.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Chemed from $422.00 to $436.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Chemed from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Chemed presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $480.25.

Chemed Price Performance

Chemed stock opened at $510.28 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $458.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.52. Chemed Corporation has a 12-month low of $365.20 and a 12-month high of $517.74.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $5.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.30 by $0.35. Chemed had a return on equity of 27.18% and a net margin of 10.23%.The firm had revenue of $657.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $659.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Chemed Corporation will post 22.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.08%.

Chemed Profile

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.