United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 16,734 shares of the company’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter worth $5,934,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,426,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,335,000 after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 456.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,232,000 after buying an additional 49,693 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $768,157,000 after buying an additional 1,190,154 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $105.32 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.35 and a 1 year high of $116.46. The firm has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.44, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $107.23 and a 200 day moving average of $106.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total value of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.59.

About Church & Dwight

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 Division (SPD), and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.