Shell Asset Management Co. Reduces Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Shell Asset Management Co. lessened its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 40.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,382 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,680 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $95.27. 2,431,007 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,652,273. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $101.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.15. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $90.99 and a one year high of $116.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $109.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,230 shares of company stock worth $8,903,734 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.