Gator Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 36,073 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Key Points

• Gator Capital Management initiated a new position in Church & Dwight, buying 36,073 shares worth about $3.0 million in the fourth quarter.
• Church & Dwight reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.95 and revenue of $1.47 billion, while also reaffirming full-year guidance.
• Recent activity has been mixed: analysts largely remain cautious with a Hold consensus, while several insiders, including directors and an EVP, sold shares in June.

Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 36,073 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,025,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 161.9% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 8,565 shares of the company's stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 44,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,705,000 after purchasing an additional 5,366 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 11,879 shares of the company's stock valued at $996,000 after purchasing an additional 6,507 shares in the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 32,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 195.7% during the fourth quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Church & Dwight

Here are the key news stories impacting Church & Dwight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: RBC Capital reaffirmed a Buy view on Church & Dwight, signaling continued analyst confidence in the stock’s outlook. RBC Capital Remains a Buy on Church & Dwight (CHD)
• Positive Sentiment: The company continues to show solid fundamentals, with its most recent quarter beating EPS and revenue estimates and management maintaining full-year guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Church & Dwight also remains supported by a quarterly dividend, which may appeal to income-focused investors.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Robert K. Shearer sold 8,600 shares for about $842,542, and EVP Brian Buchert sold 10,160 shares for about $997,102, adding to concern about insider confidence. Insider sale details for Robert K Shearer Insider selling alert for CHD
• Negative Sentiment: Another director, Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram, also sold shares, reinforcing the near-term overhang from insider selling.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $91.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.59.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD opened at $97.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.23 and a 200 day moving average of $93.40. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.33 and a twelve month high of $106.04.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 20.51%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Church & Dwight has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.710-3.810 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.3075 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 40.46%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 12,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,994. The trade was a 48.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian D. Buchert sold 10,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.14, for a total value of $997,102.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,286 shares in the company, valued at $126,208.04. The trade was a 88.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 37,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,675,090 in the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Church & Dwight

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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