Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 915 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $96,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 22.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,792,000 after purchasing an additional 4,991 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 30.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 6,516 shares during the period. abrdn plc boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 326,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,151,000 after purchasing an additional 24,557 shares during the period. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 35,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,759,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 3,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.47.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD stock opened at $108.63 on Thursday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $113.50. The company has a market cap of $26.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,448,575. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, Specialty Products, and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, and household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.