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

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,619 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,657 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $7,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 92.9% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 42.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $96.52. The stock had a trading volume of 1,983,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,769,879. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.98 and a 200 day moving average of $102.29. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $116.46. The firm has a market cap of $23.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.43, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Church & Dwight's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 50.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $1,451,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,747 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,953. This represents a 51.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker bought 7,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $94.66 per share, with a total value of $752,547.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 16,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,548,448.28. The trade was a 94.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,575 shares of company stock valued at $4,910,586 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial set a $110.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $112.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cowen lowered shares of Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.44.

About Church & Dwight

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.