Stephens Inc. AR Purchases 320 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD – Get Rating) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,273 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHD. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at $43,000. 80.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:CHD traded down $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,425,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,286,134. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $70.16 and a fifty-two week high of $105.28. The business’s fifty day moving average is $83.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $20.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.45.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 7.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2725 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. This represents a $1.09 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on Church & Dwight in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. Argus lowered Church & Dwight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Atlantic Securities raised Church & Dwight from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $87.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Paul Richard Wood sold 48,262 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.37, for a total transaction of $4,023,602.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120 shares in the company, valued at $10,004.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 17,544 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total value of $1,473,696.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,835 shares in the company, valued at $2,842,140. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Richard Wood sold 48,262 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.37, for a total value of $4,023,602.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,004.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 83,350 shares of company stock worth $6,969,241. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

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Church & Dwight Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, Specialty Products, and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, and household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.