ING Groep NV Lowers Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

ING Groep NV trimmed its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,837 shares of the company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $3,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1.0% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,097,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,968,000 after purchasing an additional 92,862 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,586,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,566,000 after acquiring an additional 153,127 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 5.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,358,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $351,668,000 after acquiring an additional 175,221 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 1,617.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,292,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,568 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 15.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,191,000 after purchasing an additional 159,233 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Arthur B. Winkleblack sold 11,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total transaction of $1,203,505.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $740,275.36. This represents a 61.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bradley C. Irwin sold 13,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.44, for a total transaction of $1,418,208.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,993,437.36. The trade was a 26.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 490,613 shares of company stock worth $50,858,457 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.53.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $109.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.26 and a 12-month high of $110.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $103.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.06. The company has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a PE ratio of 48.89, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.55.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.67%.

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.