Townsquare Capital LLC Invests $4.12 Million in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,115,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CHE. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Chemed by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 580,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,868,000 after buying an additional 14,651 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Chemed by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 475,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $257,927,000 after acquiring an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Chemed by 4.7% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 332,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,977,000 after purchasing an additional 14,814 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Chemed by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 282,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,416,000 after acquiring an additional 27,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in Chemed by 23.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 238,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,401,000 after purchasing an additional 45,917 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $598.81, for a total transaction of $1,197,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 103,735 shares in the company, valued at $62,117,555.35. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total value of $421,353.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,526,362.94. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,845 shares of company stock valued at $3,978,798 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $573.11 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $578.45 and its 200 day moving average is $565.06. The stock has a market cap of $8.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a one year low of $523.33 and a one year high of $654.62.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $5.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.76 by ($0.12). Chemed had a net margin of 12.69% and a return on equity of 27.86%. 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 prior year, the business earned $5.32 earnings per share. Chemed’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.43 EPS for the current year.

Chemed Announces Dividend

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

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.