Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Stock

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from $103.00 to $105.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on CHD. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.53.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of CHD opened at $107.24 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. Church & Dwight has a 52-week low of $96.09 and a 52-week high of $113.50. The firm has a market cap of $26.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.25, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.13 and its 200-day moving average is $104.28.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 firm earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total transaction of $874,783.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at $44,976. The trade was a 95.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $4,426,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,973 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,976. The trade was a 88.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 115,622 shares of company stock valued at $12,842,559 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth about $104,795,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,542,000 after purchasing an additional 969,006 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,338,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 63.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,106,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,832,000 after purchasing an additional 431,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,016,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $839,472,000 after purchasing an additional 429,863 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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