Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 35.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 968,532 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 252,528 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.39% of Church & Dwight worth $106,626,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 92.9% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 50.5% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 6,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total transaction of $627,154.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,754.60. This trade represents a 96.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker acquired 7,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.66 per share, with a total value of $752,547.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,358 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,448.28. This trade represents a 94.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 50,575 shares of company stock worth $4,910,586 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE CHD traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $98.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,757,453. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.95. The stock has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.51. The business's 50-day moving average price is $96.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.78. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.99 and a 12-month high of $116.46.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 50.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on CHD. Wall Street Zen upgraded Church & Dwight from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.29.

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.