Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Bought by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 15.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 553,036 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,944 shares during the quarter. Church & Dwight comprises 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $57,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 5,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 12.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 37,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,923,000 after buying an additional 4,234 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total value of $874,783.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,976. This represents a 95.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 115,622 shares of company stock valued at $12,842,559. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CHD. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.53.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $105.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $105.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.09 and a twelve month high of $113.50. The stock has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.68%.

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, and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, and household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.