Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 191,350 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 26,506 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.08% of Church & Dwight worth $18,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth about $38,000. PSI Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 468.2% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 625 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on CHD. Barclays lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. TheStreet upgraded Church & Dwight from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Argus upgraded Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,702.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Church & Dwight news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $761,944.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,525,266.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,702.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $103.20 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $101.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.41. The company has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $105.67.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

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.