Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund cut its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 7.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 647 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CHD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $259,967,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,004,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,877 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at approximately $69,384,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,265,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,861,865,000 after acquiring an additional 354,946 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,334,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,233,000 after acquiring an additional 277,017 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. HSBC boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.28.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.4 %

CHD traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $101.74. 355,238 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,317,361. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $105.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.40. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.25 and a 1-year high of $110.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $24.88 billion, a PE ratio of 32.18, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.52.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.10. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 13.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Church & Dwight’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total value of $2,153,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,793 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,485,092.31. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total value of $817,603.44. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,735.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.67, for a total value of $2,153,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,793 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,485,092.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 182,346 shares of company stock valued at $19,465,948. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

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.