Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lowered its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 17.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 214,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,519 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $22,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,242,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Board of the Pension Protection Fund acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth approximately $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 9.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,368,000 after acquiring an additional 28,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 456.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 49,693 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $104.36 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.66. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.35 and a 12 month high of $113.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.03, a PEG ratio of 3.30 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.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders 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 is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $4,426,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,976. This represents a 88.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CHD. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.53.

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.