Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Sets New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Oppenheimer raised their price target on the stock from $110.00 to $120.00. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Church & Dwight traded as high as $105.83 and last traded at $105.61, with a volume of 161921 shares. The stock had previously closed at $104.35.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight 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 value of $1,037,763.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares in the company, valued at $638,702.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. 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 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 17.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 409 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 33.1% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 5,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a PEG ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.83.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.