Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC Has $592,000 Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,256 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,942 shares during the period. Sound Financial Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 1,284 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 5.4% in the third quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $730,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 17.1% in the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 33.1% in the third quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CHD. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, Argus raised shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,551.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Church & Dwight news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $28,553,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,703,613.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total value of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.65 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $107.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 912,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,419. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.90. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.25 and a fifty-two week high of $107.56.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

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.