WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 1,760 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lessened its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 61.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,085 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,760 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $114,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.8% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,368,000 after purchasing an additional 28,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 456.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 49,693 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

NYSE:CHD opened at $105.12 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.35 and a 52 week high of $113.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a PE ratio of 44.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $105.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 45,120 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.19, for a total value of $5,062,012.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,361.75. The trade was a 81.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total value of $874,783.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,976. The trade was a 95.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 102,422 shares of company stock worth $11,424,351. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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, Barclays raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.53.

Church & Dwight 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.