Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Cuts Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,102 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,498 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CHD. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 1,617.3% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,292,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,043,000 after buying an additional 1,217,568 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 4,161.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,100,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,588 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,384,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,265,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,861,865,000 after purchasing an additional 354,946 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,334,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,233,000 after purchasing an additional 277,017 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total transaction of $5,895,423.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,179.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 1.9 %

Church & Dwight stock opened at $99.15 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.25 and a 12 month high of $110.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.16.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Church & Dwight in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.25.

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.