Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD Stake Trimmed by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. lowered its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,682 shares during the quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principle Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake 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 period. North Dakota State Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.5% during the third quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 7,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.3% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.0% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.5% in the third quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.2%

CHD stock opened at $111.93 on Thursday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.49 and a fifty-two week high of $114.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.45. 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 $26.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.45.

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, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.3075 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on CHD shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ravichandra Saligram sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.69, for a total transaction of $563,450.00. Following the sale, the director owned 3,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $411,656.57. The trade was a 57.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.25, for a total transaction of $511,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,086 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,793.50. This trade represents a 38.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 137,090 shares of company stock valued at $14,811,277 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

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.