Impax Asset Management Group plc Grows Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 19.5% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 317,943 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,974 shares during the quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Chemed were worth $172,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CHE. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Chemed in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Chemed by 34.4% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 86 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Chemed during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in Chemed in the 1st quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Chemed by 14.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $569.63, for a total value of $1,139,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,229,828.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $540.98, for a total transaction of $153,638.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,004.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $569.63, for a total transaction of $1,139,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 105,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,229,828.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,315 shares of company stock worth $3,006,573 over the last ninety days. 3.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Chemed Trading Up 0.6 %

CHE stock traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $577.15. 1,079 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 85,318. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $560.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $580.27. Chemed Co. has a 12-month low of $492.84 and a 12-month high of $654.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.43.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted 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 company 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%. The company’s revenue was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.71 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Chemed Co. will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase 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 10.76%.

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.