Searle & CO. Purchases New Shares in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Searle & CO. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 11,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,099,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 50.0% in the 4th 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. Annapolis Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2,087.5% in the 4th quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its position in Church & Dwight by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock traded down $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.26. 1,977,579 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,347. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.25 and a 52 week high of $108.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50, a PEG ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average is $103.29 and its 200-day moving average is $97.53.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.17%.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,703,613.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the company’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 value of $930,041.60. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $28,553,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,703,613.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Barclays raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.07.

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.