Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,406 shares of the company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 9.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,368,000 after acquiring an additional 28,129 shares in the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC increased its position in Church & Dwight by 456.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 49,693 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.47.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

CHD opened at $109.39 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.35 and a 1 year high of $113.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.89. The firm has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 46.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. 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. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Michael Read purchased 1,100 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total transaction of $1,061,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,575. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,522 shares of company stock worth $5,487,555 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.