Strs Ohio Cuts Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Strs Ohio lowered its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,918 shares of the company’s stock after selling 538 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 106,565.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,688,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $539,200,000 after buying an additional 6,682,725 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 89.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839,783 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $192,019,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 25.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,148,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $253,808,000 after purchasing an additional 645,291 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 31.3% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,301,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,459,000 after purchasing an additional 548,298 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $104.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.25 and a 52 week high of $105.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. Church & Dwight’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CHD shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, TheStreet raised Church & Dwight from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $472,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 24,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.61, for a total value of $2,526,011.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $790,958.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $472,500.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.