Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. Grows Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Littlejohn Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,984 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,688 shares during the quarter. Church & Dwight makes up about 1.9% of Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Littlejohn Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in Church & Dwight by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the company's stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its position in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company's stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,544,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,708,092. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.99 and a 12-month high of $116.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.50. The company has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 50.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $1,451,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,360,953. This represents a 51.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,765 shares of company stock worth $11,821,881. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.69.

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.