Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 993,670 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 97.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,171 shares of the company's stock after selling 993,670 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CHD. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted 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 purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on CHD shares. Truist Financial set a $110.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen cut Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $109.69.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard A. Dierker bought 7,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $94.66 per share, for a total transaction of $752,547.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 55,255 shares of company stock valued at $5,499,811. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE CHD opened at $99.07 on Monday. 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 stock's 50-day simple moving average is $99.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.32. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.99 and a twelve month high of $116.46. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 50.64%.

Church & Dwight 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.

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