Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd has reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. by 26.3%, selling 5,028 shares and now holding 14,074 shares valued at approximately $1.5 million.
• Several hedge funds have recently increased their stakes in Church & Dwight, with Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosting its position by 89.3% and Allianz Asset Management GmbH by 451.2% in the last quarter.
• Church & Dwight recently reported a quarterly EPS of $0.94, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue was down 0.3% compared to the previous year.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 26.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,074 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,028 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 89.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 25,080 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 451.2% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 81,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,924,000 after purchasing an additional 66,357 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 1,201.4% in the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 8,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 7,701 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 9.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,916 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,249,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CHD shares. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $83.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $103.94.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD opened at $92.67 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.50 and a 1-year high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.33. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $96.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.86. The firm has a market cap of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $1,451,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 13,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,953. This trade represents a 51.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker bought 5,470 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $91.57 per share, with a total value of $500,887.90. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 27,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,491,802.84. This trade represents a 25.16% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 12,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,177,702 and have sold 35,915 shares valued at $3,545,300. 2.00% of the stock is owned by 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.

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