Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Increases Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,779 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,223 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,179.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $114.00 target price for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $106.58.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.5 %

CHD opened at $104.04 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.54. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.25 and a fifty-two week high of $110.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.53.

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

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.87%.

About Church & Dwight

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.