Advantage Trust Co Buys Shares of 800 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 89.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,283,000 after purchasing an additional 2,839,783 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 99.6% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 526,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,224,000 after acquiring an additional 262,801 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1,474.7% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 233,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after acquiring an additional 218,501 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,200,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,405,000 after purchasing an additional 217,047 shares during the period. Finally, Liontrust Investment Partners LLP boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 108.1% during the 3rd quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 306,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,056,000 after purchasing an additional 159,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CHD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $105.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,266.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $28,553,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,703,613.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,266.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 384,724 shares of company stock valued at $39,895,310. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.2 %

CHD stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Thursday, reaching $107.04. The stock had a trading volume of 882,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,880. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.25 and a one year high of $108.68. The company’s 50 day moving average is $104.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.17.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 13.13%. Church & Dwight’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.46 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 35.87%.

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.