First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 22.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,126 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 13.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 342,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,755,000 after acquiring an additional 39,695 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Church & Dwight by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 208,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,754 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 67,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,032,000 after purchasing an additional 28,986 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 117.1% in the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 107,206 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,183,000 after buying an additional 57,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 160.1% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after buying an additional 14,483 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $99.91 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.25 and a 12 month high of $110.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $102.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total transaction of $5,895,423.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,179.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Church & Dwight in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.50.

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.