Forsta AP Fonden Sells 19,800 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in Church & Dwight by 22.2% in the 1st quarter, selling 19,800 shares and now holding a value of approximately $7.6 million in the company.
• Analysts have varied opinions on the stock, with new price targets being set; for instance, Wells Fargo increased their target from $105.00 to $108.00, while JPMorgan lowered theirs from $97.00 to $92.00.
• Church & Dwight recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 55.66%.

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $7,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHD. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 90.9% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Church & Dwight from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Barclays lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.94.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $92.67. 720,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,064,293. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a PE ratio of 43.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.43. 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 one year low of $90.50 and a one year high of $116.46. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $96.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.97.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Read purchased 2,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 7,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,981.35. This trade represents a 36.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker purchased 5,470 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,887.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 27,212 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,802.84. This represents a 25.16% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 12,879 shares of company stock worth $1,177,702 and sold 35,915 shares worth $3,545,300. 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.