Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,552,141 shares of the company's stock after selling 229,843 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.63% of Church & Dwight worth $162,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $51,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD traded up $3.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $95.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,965,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,006. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.88 and a 1-year high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. Analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Cowen cut Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction 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 approximately $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,230 shares of company stock valued at $8,903,734 in the last three months. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Company 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.