Cerity Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 164.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,057 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 15,573 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,370,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,910,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,740,665,000 after purchasing an additional 145,390 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 2.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,200,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $751,405,000 after buying an additional 217,047 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 106,565.5% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,688,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,200,000 after buying an additional 6,682,725 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 89.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,283,000 after buying an additional 2,839,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,267,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,667,000 after acquiring an additional 92,964 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CHD. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, TheStreet raised Church & Dwight from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.27.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at $451,551.45. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $28,553,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,703,613.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.3 %

CHD opened at $103.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $25.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.25 and a 12 month high of $105.67.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 37.17%.

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.