Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its Church & Dwight stake by 20.4% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 110,654 shares valued at approximately $10.3 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.6% of the company.
• Church & Dwight insiders sold 47,680 shares worth about $4.67 million over the past 90 days, including substantial sales by two directors.
• Analysts maintain a broadly favorable outlook, with an average “Hold” rating and a $103.82 price target. The company recently exceeded quarterly EPS and revenue estimates and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.3075 per share, yielding about 1.3%.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 20.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,654 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 18,761 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $10,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Field & Main Bank purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 83.0% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 344 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Penry W. Price sold 5,960 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.86, for a total value of $565,365.60. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,852,440.20. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 12,960 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $1,270,080.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,653 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,337,994. The trade was a 48.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 47,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,672,190 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on CHD. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Evercore set a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Church & Dwight from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $103.82.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of CHD stock opened at $97.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 32.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.47. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.33 and a 52-week high of $106.04. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.08 and its 200 day moving average is $96.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.22.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 11.81%.The firm's revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.3075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is presently 40.46%.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a U.S.-based consumer products company best known for its Arm & Hammer baking soda business. Founded in 1846 with the manufacture and marketing of sodium bicarbonate, the company has grown into a diversified maker and marketer of household, personal care and specialty products. Church & Dwight is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CHD and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey.

The company's portfolio spans a range of categories including household cleaning and laundry, oral care, personal care, sexual wellness and health & wellness.

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