Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,189 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Read bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.07 per share, for a total transaction of $276,210.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $506,845.35. This trade represents a 119.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares in the company, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 55,255 shares of company stock worth $5,499,811. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD opened at $98.67 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.22. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.99 and a 1-year high of $116.46. 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 firm has a market cap of $24.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Church & Dwight’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on CHD shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Church & Dwight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.69.

Church & Dwight Profile

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.