Insider Buying: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) EVP Purchases $117,502.00 in Stock

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD opened at $105.85 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.69 and a 52 week high of $113.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 47.47, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $106.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.45.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.11. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Church & Dwight’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 50.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley downgraded Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CHD. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1,617.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,292,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,043,000 after buying an additional 1,217,568 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 4,161.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,100,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,588 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at $104,795,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,542,000 after purchasing an additional 969,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,338,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Church & Dwight

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.