Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 4,312 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. by 20.3%, selling 4,312 shares and now holding 16,960 shares valued at approximately $1.87 million.
• Analysts have lowered Church & Dwight's price targets, with Evercore ISI and Barclays setting new objectives at $101.00 and $83.00 respectively, amid a consensus rating of "Hold" for the stock.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.295 per share, which will be paid to stockholders of record on August 15th, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 20.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,960 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,312 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,867,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.7% during 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 during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,115 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,325,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.5% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 687 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $94.87. 659,962 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,045,861. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.33. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.50 and a 1 year high of $116.46. The company's 50-day moving average is $95.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.64. The company has a market capitalization of $23.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.75, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.44.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.48 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. Church & Dwight has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.440-3.510 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 0.720-0.720 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is presently 55.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Richard A. Dierker purchased 5,470 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $91.57 per share, for a total transaction of $500,887.90. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 27,212 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,491,802.84. This trade represents a 25.16% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 2,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,505 shares in the company, valued at $684,981.35. This trade represents a 36.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 12,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,177,702 over the last ninety days. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Truist Financial set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Redburn Partners set a $83.00 price target on Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $83.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.