Essex Financial Services Inc. Invests $490,000 in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Essex Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,721 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $490,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total value of $5,895,423.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,179.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,654 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $5,847,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,775. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total value of $5,895,423.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $429,179.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 200,722 shares of company stock worth $20,986,416. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $101.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.13 and a 200 day moving average of $103.80. The company has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.52. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.25 and a fifty-two week high of $110.31.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.09. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. Church & Dwight’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 35.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.58.

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.