DnB Asset Management AS Increases Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 49,817 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,744 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449 over the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CHD stock opened at $109.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.05, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.35 and a 1 year high of $116.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $107.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.95.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly 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 last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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. Barclays boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.81.

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 Division (SPD), and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.