AXS Investments LLC Invests $181,000 in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $181,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Chemed during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Chemed during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Chemed in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Chemed by 110.6% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 99 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Chemed by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

Chemed Price Performance

Shares of CHE stock traded up $0.05 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $555.37. The company had a trading volume of 45,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 81,717. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $600.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $595.03. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $492.84 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The company has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.46.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $4.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.09 by ($0.41). Chemed had a net margin of 12.36% and a return on equity of 30.52%. The company had revenue of $589.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $587.18 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Chemed Co. will post 21.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 30th. Chemed’s payout ratio is presently 8.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Chemed

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $567.54, for a total transaction of $2,270,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 108,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,605,899.46. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Chemed news, CFO Michael D. Witzeman sold 2,650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $643.14, for a total transaction of $1,704,321.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 2,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,853,529.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $567.54, for a total value of $2,270,160.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 108,549 shares in the company, valued at $61,605,899.46. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,808 shares of company stock worth $12,454,691 in the last quarter. 3.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.