Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Stake Cut by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 65.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,582 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,405 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CHD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $318,532,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company's stock worth $768,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,154 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,565,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,504,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,018,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,073,000 after purchasing an additional 393,068 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 11,875 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.75, for a total transaction of $1,172,656.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 262 shares in the company, valued at $25,872.50. This represents a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,765 shares of company stock valued at $11,821,881 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on CHD. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered 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. Bank of America raised Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE CHD traded down $0.54 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $99.09. 894,506 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,699,179. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.40 billion, a PE ratio of 41.78, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.99 and a 1-year high of $116.46. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $99.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.58.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.52 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. The business's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.64%.

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.