HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. by 0.9%, now holding 503,467 shares valued at approximately $55.4 million.
• Insider trading activity included EVP Lee B. Mcchesney purchasing 5,409 shares while EVP Carlen Hooker sold 6,380 shares, reflecting a significant change in their ownership stakes.
• Church & Dwight reported $1.51 billion in revenue for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but showed a slight decline compared to the previous year.

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 503,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,826 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.20% of Church & Dwight worth $55,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 33,562 shares of the company's stock worth $3,695,000 after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at about $106,736,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 35.4% during the 1st quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at about $874,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In related news, CEO Richard A. Dierker acquired 5,470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $91.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,887.90. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 27,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,491,802.84. This represents a 25.16% increase 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, EVP Lee B. Mcchesney acquired 5,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $91.38 per share, with a total value of $494,274.42. Following the purchase, the executive vice president directly owned 5,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at $494,274.42. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 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 corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of CHD traded down $0.14 on Friday, reaching $92.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,962,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,429,810. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.43. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.50 and a 12-month high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.84.

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

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CHD. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Truist Financial set a $110.00 price target on Church & Dwight and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, TD Cowen cut Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.94.

Church & Dwight Company 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.