Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Has $4.13 Million Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of CHD stock opened at $104.66 on Wednesday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.35 and a 1-year high of $116.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.16, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $107.49 and a 200-day moving average of $105.89.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CHD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.56.

Insider Activity

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

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 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.