Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 8,075 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. by 88.2%, holding 1,081 shares valued at $119,000 after selling 8,075 shares in the first quarter.
• Church & Dwight reported earnings of $0.94 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.85, while revenue of $1.51 billion was slightly below the forecast.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, offering an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 55.66%.

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 88.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,081 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,075 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHD. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,316,414 shares of the company's stock worth $451,975,000 after acquiring an additional 20,887 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,018,552 shares of the company's stock worth $316,073,000 after acquiring an additional 393,068 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,404,961 shares of the company's stock worth $251,823,000 after acquiring an additional 124,560 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,864,115 shares of the company's stock worth $195,191,000 after acquiring an additional 68,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,527,398 shares of the company's stock worth $160,880,000 after acquiring an additional 81,291 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 334,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,058,559. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $96.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.86. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $90.50 and a one year high of $116.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cowen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. TD Cowen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,953. This represents a 51.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 7,505 shares in the company, valued at $684,981.35. This trade represents a 36.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 12,879 shares of company stock worth $1,177,702 and have sold 35,915 shares worth $3,545,300. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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.