Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Hits New 12-Month High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $111.23 and last traded at $106.8430, with a volume of 271,330 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $106.00.

The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 11.96% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Church & Dwight’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.3075 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CHD shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $106.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Church & Dwight from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $105.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Carlos Linares sold 15,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.00, for a total transaction of $1,568,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,668 shares in the company, valued at $476,136. The trade was a 76.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Arthur Winkleblack sold 13,200 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.83, for a total transaction of $1,357,356.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,075.07. This trade represents a 64.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 53,250 shares of company stock valued at $5,462,048. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Church & Dwight

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CHD. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 516.4% in the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 1.1%

The company has a market cap of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.56.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and markets household, personal care and specialty products. Its portfolio is anchored by the ARM & HAMMER brand, which is used across products such as baking soda, laundry detergent, cat litter, household cleaners, oral care products and personal care items.

The company also markets a broad range of branded products, including OxiClean laundry and cleaning products, Trojan sexual wellness products, Waterpik oral health devices, First Response pregnancy and fertility tests, Nair hair-removal products, Orajel oral pain relief, TheraBreath oral care products, and vitamins and supplements sold under the Vitafusion and L’il Critters brands.