Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Acquires 314 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,316 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,637,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,910,126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,740,665,000 after buying an additional 145,390 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in 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 last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,310,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,982,000 after buying an additional 29,943 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in Church & Dwight by 1.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,291,982 shares of the company’s stock worth $301,645,000 after purchasing an additional 61,090 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $105.56.

Insider Activity

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total value of $817,603.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,735.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Church & Dwight news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.47, for a total value of $817,603.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,709,735.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 371,524 shares of company stock worth $38,491,358 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $106.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,041,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,291,391. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $82.25 and a one year high of $108.68. The firm has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.11.

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

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

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

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.