Jensen Investment Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. by 18.6%, selling 10,430 shares during the 1st quarter and now owns 45,580 shares valued at approximately $5 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their stakes in Church & Dwight, with Vanguard Group Inc. growing its position by 2.4%, now holding over 31 million shares worth about $3.46 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, with an annualized yield of 1.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of approximately 55.66%.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 18.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,580 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,430 shares during the quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,018,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IAG Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 92.9% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 6,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $627,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 262 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,754.60. This trade represents a 96.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read purchased 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 7,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $684,981.35. This represents a 36.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,915 shares of company stock worth $3,545,300. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE:CHD traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $90.88. 1,670,323 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,338,364. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.87, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.82 and a 200 day moving average of $101.37. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.50 and a 12 month high of $116.46.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CHD shares. TD Cowen lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $92.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $114.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.94.

Church & Dwight 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.