Ethic Inc. Sells 6,544 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Ethic Inc. lessened its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 9.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 60,999 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,544 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CHD. Calamos Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.1% in the third quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 93,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,791,000 after buying an additional 1,888 shares in the last quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.1% during the third quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 11.9% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,075,000 after acquiring an additional 4,606 shares in the last quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 176.1% during the third quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 392 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth about $311,000. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.44.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of CHD stock opened at $111.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $26.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.45. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.49 and a 52-week high of $114.64. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.26.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.41%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.3075 per share. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Saligram sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.69, for a total value of $563,450.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,653 shares in the company, valued at $411,656.57. The trade was a 57.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Bradley Irwin sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.36, for a total transaction of $474,548.00. Following the sale, the director owned 35,674 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,936,982.64. The trade was a 10.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,090 shares of company stock valued at $14,811,277. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight is a consumer products company whose history traces to 1846, when John Dwight and Austin Church began producing baking soda. The company is best known for its ARM & HAMMER brand and sells household, personal care, and specialty products under a portfolio of owned brands.

Its products include laundry detergents and cleaners, oral care items, cat litter, deodorants, condoms, pregnancy and ovulation tests, hair-removal products, and water flossers. Brands include OxiClean, Trojan, First Response, Nair, Waterpik, and TheraBreath, alongside ARM & HAMMER.

Church & Dwight serves consumers in the United States and international markets.