Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $114.05 and last traded at $113.80, with a volume of 67888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $112.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CHD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.56.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $28.14 billion, a PE ratio of 48.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $105.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its 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 return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.03%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total transaction of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,575. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Church & Dwight

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CHD. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 9,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Cim LLC now owns 34,209 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 286 shares in the last quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $99,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $36,493,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.