Bank of America Increases Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Price Target to $104.00

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) had its price target hoisted by Bank of America from $100.00 to $104.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a buy rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $103.27.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

CHD opened at $103.45 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.84 and a 200-day moving average of $96.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.03, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $105.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Bradley C. Irwin sold 5,590 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.12, for a total value of $582,030.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,169 shares in the company, valued at $3,870,036.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.0% during 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 883 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.4% during the first quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 4.4% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sovereign Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.7% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,819,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

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.