Royal Bank of Canada Trims Stake in Chemed Corporation $CHE

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) by 46.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,852 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,419 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Chemed were worth $7,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Chemed by 2,444,879.3% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,550,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,374,667,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Chemed in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,067,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Chemed by 89.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 325,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,302,000 after purchasing an additional 153,469 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Chemed by 1,260.2% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 117,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,353,000 after purchasing an additional 109,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Chemed by 10,291.1% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 85,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,768,000 after purchasing an additional 85,107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.85% of the company’s stock.

Chemed Stock Performance

Shares of CHE stock opened at $549.52 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $480.51 and a 200 day moving average of $440.46. Chemed Corporation has a 52 week low of $365.20 and a 52 week high of $557.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Chemed (NYSE:CHE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.60 by $0.46. Chemed had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 31.77%. The business had revenue of $673.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $665.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Chemed has set its FY 2026 guidance at 25.000-25.750 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Chemed Corporation will post 23.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Chemed Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is an increase from Chemed’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Chemed’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Chemed news, Director Patrick P. Grace sold 190 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.00, for a total transaction of $101,080.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 3,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,879,556. The trade was a 5.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kevin J. Mcnamara sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.51, for a total value of $1,079,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 70,418 shares in the company, valued at $37,991,215.18. This trade represents a 2.76% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 3,537 shares of company stock valued at $1,782,654 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Chemed from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Chemed from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Chemed from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Chemed from $436.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Chemed from $500.00 to $590.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $530.75.

Chemed Company Profile

Chemed Corporation is a diversified provider of essential home services and healthcare solutions in the United States. Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, the company operates through two principal business segments—Roto-Rooter and Vitas Healthcare. Since its founding in 1974, Chemed has built a reputation for reliability and expertise, serving both residential and commercial customers across a broad range of markets.

The Roto-Rooter segment offers a comprehensive suite of plumbing, drain cleaning and water restoration services.