Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 717,399 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,948,778 shares of the company's stock after selling 717,399 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 2.42% of Church & Dwight worth $654,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,325,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evoke Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Evoke Wealth LLC now owns 13,119 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $114.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised Church & Dwight from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.44.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE CHD traded up $0.74 during trading on Thursday, reaching $97.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,271,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,676. The company's fifty day moving average price is $96.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.34. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.99 and a 12 month high of $116.46. The stock has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.65, a PEG ratio of 3.83 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 1.22%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 50.64%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $92.07 per share, for a total transaction of $276,210.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,845.35. This trade represents a 119.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 6,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total value of $627,154.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,754.60. The trade was a 96.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,575 shares of company stock worth $4,910,586 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.