Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,627 shares of the company’s stock after selling 944 shares during the period. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 468.2% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CHD. Argus upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.27.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD stock opened at $103.20 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $101.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.41. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.25 and a 52 week high of $105.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.53.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 37.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 24,380 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.61, for a total transaction of $2,526,011.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $790,958.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,702.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 24,380 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.61, for a total transaction of $2,526,011.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,958.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Profile

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.