Korea Investment CORP Increases Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Korea Investment CORP grew its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 67.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 189,642 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76,520 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $19,857,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Church & Dwight by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock opened at $109.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $107.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.93.

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, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.295 dividend. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.81.

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 Division (SPD), and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.