D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 4,377 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 52,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,377 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 19,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,864,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Brian D. Buchert sold 12,120 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total value of $1,246,420.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,120 shares in the company, valued at $629,380.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael Read sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.95, for a total transaction of $908,550.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,042,308.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Brian D. Buchert sold 12,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.84, for a total transaction of $1,246,420.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $629,380.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 376,972 shares of company stock worth $39,133,366. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD opened at $107.31 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.25 and a 1 year high of $108.68.

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

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.56.

Church & Dwight Profile

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.