Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 17.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 214,250 shares of the company’s stock after selling 46,519 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.09% of Church & Dwight worth $22,434,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.3% in the 3rd 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. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Church & Dwight by 3.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $104.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.03, a P/E/G 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.66. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.35 and a 1 year high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 49.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CHD shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $4,426,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,976. The trade was a 88.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.