AIA Group Ltd Grows Stock Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 897 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Chemed were worth $525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Chemed during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 155.6% during the 1st quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its position in shares of Chemed by 2,283.3% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 143 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CHE shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Chemed from $604.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Chemed from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th.

Insider Activity at Chemed

In related news, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Brian C. Judkins sold 11,158 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $645.00, for a total transaction of $7,196,910.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,422 shares in the company, valued at $917,190. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $641.65, for a total transaction of $1,283,300.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,760 shares in the company, valued at $13,320,654. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,808 shares of company stock worth $10,184,531 over the last ninety days. 4.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Chemed Stock Performance

CHE stock opened at $600.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. Chemed Co. has a 1 year low of $492.84 and a 1 year high of $654.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $622.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $587.96.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The company reported $6.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.25 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $585.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $586.64 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 32.29% and a net margin of 12.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.39 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.93%.

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.