Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,749,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,967,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.12% of Church & Dwight as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 33,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,190,000 after buying an additional 2,841 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 48.1% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 49,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,670,000 after buying an additional 16,037 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 136,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,943,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 40,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,799,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.56.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $107.06 on Wednesday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.25 and a twelve month high of $108.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.24. The firm has a market cap of $26.18 billion, a PE ratio of 33.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.10. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.49 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Robert K. Shearer sold 13,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.36, for a total transaction of $1,403,952.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,095,926.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael Read sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total value of $908,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,042,308.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert K. Shearer sold 13,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.36, for a total transaction of $1,403,952.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,108 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,095,926.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 376,972 shares of company stock worth $39,133,366 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% 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.