Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $114.05 and last traded at $113.80, with a volume of 67888 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $112.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CHD shares. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.56.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.70, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total transaction of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,575. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,002 shares of company stock worth $1,061,315. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 2.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Church & Dwight by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 32,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Church & Dwight

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.