Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Sells 270 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 63,962 shares of the company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $6,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at about $104,795,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,373,542,000 after buying an additional 969,006 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,338,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,106,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,832,000 after purchasing an additional 431,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,016,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $839,472,000 after purchasing an additional 429,863 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE CHD opened at $105.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $25.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $105.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.72. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.35 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50.

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, hitting 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 prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,973 shares in the company, valued at $556,976. This represents a 88.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.47.

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.