Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Position in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE)

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,934 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Chemed were worth $2,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Chemed by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its position in Chemed by 33.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,105,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its stake in shares of Chemed by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 40,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,020 shares during the period. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Chemed by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Chemed by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 704 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 95.85% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Chemed

In other news, VP Brian C. Judkins bought 145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $519.50 per share, with a total value of $75,327.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $871,721. This trade represents a 9.46 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Spencer S. Lee sold 732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $575.62, for a total transaction of $421,353.84. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,287 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,526,362.94. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CHE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of 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 Performance

Shares of Chemed stock opened at $574.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.47. Chemed Co. has a 52-week low of $512.12 and a 52-week high of $654.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $544.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $563.75.

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

Chemed Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Chemed’s payout ratio 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.