Stephens Inc. AR Decreases Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,242 shares of the company’s stock after selling 448 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Truist Financial increased 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total transaction of $874,783.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at $44,976. The trade was a 95.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,976. This represents a 88.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,422 shares of company stock worth $11,424,351. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $105.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.72, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.09 and a 1-year high of $113.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $105.63 and its 200-day moving average is $104.45.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 business earned $0.65 EPS. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

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.