Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 1,953 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 101,193 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $10,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 32,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,358,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.47.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $4,426,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,976. This represents a 88.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,448,575. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock opened at $110.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.35 and a 52-week high of $113.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.65, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

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.