Achmea Investment Management B.V. Decreases Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,009 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Church & Dwight by 8.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,542,000 after purchasing an additional 969,006 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Church & Dwight by 5.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,016,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,472,000 after purchasing an additional 429,863 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the third 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. Amundi raised its position in Church & Dwight by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,833,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,073,000 after purchasing an additional 220,829 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,448,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,681,000 after buying an additional 49,082 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total transaction of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,575. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 75,570 shares of company stock worth $8,599,549. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $109.15 on Friday. 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 has a market capitalization of $26.85 billion, a PE ratio of 46.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.65. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.56.

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.