Versant Capital Management Inc Increases Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 224.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 266 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.8% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,242,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 12.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 803,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,249,000 after buying an additional 88,580 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 9.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,368,000 after acquiring an additional 28,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Church & Dwight by 55.5% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 241,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,070,000 after acquiring an additional 86,318 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $102.83 on Wednesday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.45 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $106.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $25.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.58.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.08% and a return on equity of 19.90%. The company’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 45,120 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.19, for a total value of $5,062,012.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,158,361.75. This trade represents a 81.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 593,035 shares of company stock worth $62,282,808. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $124.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $110.00.

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.