Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 4,877 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 631,856 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,877 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Church & Dwight worth $69,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 92.9% in the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 270 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Church & Dwight stock traded up $1.55 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $97.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,415,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,752,074. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.99 and a 12-month high of $116.46. The company has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.91, a PEG ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.52. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $96.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.98.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. Church & Dwight's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.295 dividend. 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 1.21%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 50.64%.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,747 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,360,953. This trade represents a 51.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 11,875 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,872.50. The trade was a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,575 shares of company stock worth $4,910,586. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on CHD. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Cowen cut Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.29.

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.