Searle & CO. Buys New Shares in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Searle & CO. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 11,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,099,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 2,087.5% in the 4th quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 74.7% in the 4th quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the sale, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,266.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $638,702.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,525,266.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CHD. UBS Group upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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 note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.07.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHD traded down $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.26. 1,977,579 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,290,347. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $103.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.25 and a 12 month high of $108.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

Church & Dwight 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.