Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 413,980 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,281 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $42,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $259,967,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,004,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,414,000 after buying an additional 2,533,877 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the first quarter worth about $69,384,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,265,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,861,865,000 after acquiring an additional 354,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,334,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,233,000 after acquiring an additional 277,017 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CHD shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Church & Dwight from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $5,847,978.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,775. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 86,740 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.56, for a total value of $9,243,014.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $813,479.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,654 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $5,847,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,775. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 200,722 shares of company stock worth $20,986,416. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock opened at $103.26 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.25 and a 52-week high of $110.31. The firm has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.08.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 13.38%. Church & Dwight’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.