M&T Bank Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 13.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 843 shares of the company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Chemed were worth $507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHE. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in shares of Chemed by 300.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 116,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,249,000 after buying an additional 87,449 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Chemed during the 3rd quarter worth $437,150,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Chemed by 19.5% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Chemed by 23.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Chemed by 22.1% during the second quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 223,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,068,000 after purchasing an additional 40,358 shares during the last quarter. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CHE. StockNews.com upgraded Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Chemed from $697.00 to $633.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th.

Chemed Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:CHE opened at $524.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.46. Chemed Co. has a fifty-two week low of $523.33 and a fifty-two week high of $654.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $569.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $564.90.

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

Chemed Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Chemed’s payout ratio is 10.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Chemed news, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.77, for a total transaction of $1,145,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,270,755.95. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director George J. Walsh III sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.47, for a total value of $238,988.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,046 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,819,893.62. The trade was a 11.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,132 shares of company stock valued at $3,003,502. 3.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.