Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 41.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 190,713 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,100 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $17,797,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Walter Public Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 1st quarter worth $5,721,000. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 797,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,890,000 after purchasing an additional 82,833 shares in the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 141,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,893,000 after purchasing an additional 78,107 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at about $1,129,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter worth about $2,382,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $114.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.82.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

CHD opened at $97.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.33 and a 12-month high of $106.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $97.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.47.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 20.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.3075 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 5,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.86, for a total transaction of $565,365.60. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,852,440.20. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Carlos G. Linares sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.71, for a total value of $997,100.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,668 shares in the company, valued at $465,446.28. This trade represents a 68.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 47,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,672,190 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a U.S.-based consumer products company best known for its Arm & Hammer baking soda business. Founded in 1846 with the manufacture and marketing of sodium bicarbonate, the company has grown into a diversified maker and marketer of household, personal care and specialty products. Church & Dwight is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CHD and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey.

The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including household cleaning and laundry, oral care, personal care, sexual wellness and health & wellness.