Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 293 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 15,144 shares of the company’s stock after selling 293 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,586,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Certuity LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $402,000. Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC now owns 29,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 6,978 shares during the last quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Finally, Wealthstar Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,602,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

CHD opened at $107.58 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.46. 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 has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.09 and a 1-year high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Read purchased 1,100 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 102,422 shares of company stock valued at $11,424,351. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.53.

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.