Legato Capital Management LLC Sells 4,930 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Legato Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 24.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,930 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,557,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CHD. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

CHD opened at $105.98 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 44.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $105.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.45. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.09 and a 1 year high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.295 dividend. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CHD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,575. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total transaction of $874,783.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at $44,976. The trade was a 95.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 102,422 shares of company stock worth $11,424,351 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Company 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.