Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $96,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 224.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

CHD stock opened at $108.63 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $26.72 billion, a PE ratio of 45.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $113.50. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $105.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.86.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Read purchased 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at $267,584.10. This trade represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the sale, 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 have sold a total of 49,522 shares of company stock worth $5,487,555 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note 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 research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.47.

About Church & Dwight

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.