Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its position in Church & Dwight by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 32,478 shares and ending with 126,082 shares valued at about $10.6 million.
• Church & Dwight reported solid quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.95 versus expectations of $0.93 and revenue of $1.47 billion versus $1.46 billion estimated. The company also provided FY 2026 EPS guidance of $3.71 to $3.81.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally cautious: the stock has an average Hold rating with an average price target of $102.53, while shares recently traded at $95.59 and the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3075 per share.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 20.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,082 shares of the company's stock after selling 32,478 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.05% of Church & Dwight worth $10,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,847,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $154,914,000 after buying an additional 79,752 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $708,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 27,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,294,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $268,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CHD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (up from $112.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective (up from $87.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.53.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.6%

CHD stock opened at $95.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.33 and a 12 month high of $106.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.17.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Church & Dwight's quarterly revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. 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, analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.3075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 5,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.86, for a total transaction of $565,365.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 30,070 shares in the company, valued at $2,852,440.20. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

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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