Cannell & Spears LLC Lowers Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Cannell & Spears LLC lessened its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 48,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,542 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,056,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CHD stock opened at $110.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.42, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $107.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.00. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.35 and a 1 year high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.81.

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