ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Makes New Investment in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has invested $3.68 million in Church & Dwight Co., acquiring 33,430 shares of the company.
• Church & Dwight reported a Q2 EPS of $0.94, surpassing analyst estimates, while experiencing a slight revenue decline of 0.3% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.3%, set to be paid on September 2nd.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 33,430 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,680,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CHD. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 42.1% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CHD. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Redburn Partners set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 13,747 shares in the company, valued at $1,360,953. This represents a 51.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 7,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $684,981.35. This trade represents a 36.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,915 shares of company stock worth $3,545,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded down $1.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,670,323 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,338,364. The company has a market cap of $22.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $96.67 and its 200-day moving average is $101.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.84. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.50 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 55.66%.

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.