Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,469 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,234 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $3,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 8.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,542,000 after acquiring an additional 969,006 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,016,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,472,000 after purchasing an additional 429,863 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,295,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,830,000 after purchasing an additional 21,607 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,358,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,668,000 after purchasing an additional 175,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,399,502 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,556,000 after purchasing an additional 16,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $105.05 on Monday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.09 and a 12-month high of $113.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bradley C. Irwin sold 13,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.44, for a total transaction of $1,418,208.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 37,169 shares in the company, valued at $3,993,437.36. The trade was a 26.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Read purchased 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 115,622 shares of company stock valued at $12,842,559 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, Specialty Products, and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, and household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.