Candriam S.C.A. Sells 14,651 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Candriam S.C.A. lowered its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,651 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,002 shares of company stock valued at $1,061,315. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.56.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $112.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $27.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $106.23 and its 200-day moving average is $105.38. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $96.35 and a one year high of $114.60. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 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 period last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

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.