Centaurus Financial Inc. Purchases 2,924 Shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 136.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,071 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,924 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Chemed were worth $3,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 300.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,249,000 after purchasing an additional 87,449 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Chemed in the 3rd quarter worth $437,150,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its stake in shares of Chemed by 19.5% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 317,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,510,000 after purchasing an additional 51,974 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Chemed by 22.1% in the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,068,000 after buying an additional 40,358 shares during the period. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in Chemed by 34.5% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 154,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,516,000 after buying an additional 39,633 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Chemed from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $570.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $579.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $565.16. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $523.33 and a 1 year high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a return on equity of 27.86% and a net margin of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $606.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $612.22 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.32 earnings per share. Chemed’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total value of $238,988.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,819,893.62. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nicholas Michael Westfall sold 1,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.35, for a total transaction of $975,296.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,478,159.15. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,113 shares of company stock valued at $2,411,905. Company 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.