KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Reduces Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS decreased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,300 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.06% of Church & Dwight worth $15,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $167,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 258,415 shares of the company's stock worth $27,058,000 after acquiring an additional 23,433 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 184,133 shares of the company's stock worth $19,281,000 after purchasing an additional 21,742 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,691,064 shares of the company's stock worth $3,213,661,000 after purchasing an additional 193,602 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 11,875 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.75, for a total value of $1,172,656.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 262 shares in the company, valued at $25,872.50. The trade was a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker bought 7,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $94.66 per share, for a total transaction of $752,547.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 16,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,548,448.28. The trade was a 94.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,575 shares of company stock valued at $4,910,586 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.1%

Church & Dwight stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.17. 1,652,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,925,047. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.99 and a 52-week high of $116.46. The business's 50-day moving average price is $97.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.28% and a net margin of 9.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on CHD. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $114.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Redburn Partners set a $83.00 target price on Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.38.

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.