Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Given New $105.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

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

CHD has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.00.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $106.37 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $106.30 and a 200-day moving average of $104.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.59.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.68%.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total value of $31,152,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,704,740.96. This trade represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of Church & Dwight 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 415,622 shares of company stock valued at $43,994,559. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Church & Dwight

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

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.