Sentry Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Sentry Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,282 shares of the company’s stock after selling 138 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $121,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at $38,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 468.2% during the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 625 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

CHD opened at $103.45 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.84 and a 200-day moving average of $96.36. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.25 and a 1-year high of $105.67. The company has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Church & Dwight’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,525,266.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Church & Dwight news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $761,944.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,266.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Church & Dwight from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.27.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.