Virtu Financial LLC Has $1.03 Million Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC reduced its stake in Church & Dwight by 38.8%, selling 5,940 shares and now holds 9,367 shares worth approximately $1,031,000.
• Insider transactions include EVP Lee B. Mcchesney purchasing 5,409 shares for $494,274, while Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares for $1,451,340.
• Analysts have issued mixed ratings on Church & Dwight, with revisions of target prices and a consensus rating of "Hold" along with an average price target of $103.94.

Virtu Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 38.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,367 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,940 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 89.3% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,164 shares of the company's stock worth $5,567,000 after buying an additional 25,080 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 451.2% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 81,065 shares of the company's stock worth $8,924,000 after buying an additional 66,357 shares in the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 1,201.4% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 8,342 shares of the company's stock worth $918,000 after buying an additional 7,701 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 9.4% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,916 shares of the company's stock worth $4,137,000 after buying an additional 3,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAM Holding AG acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth about $1,249,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $100.00 to $114.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $83.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Cowen downgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Lee B. Mcchesney bought 5,409 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $91.38 per share, for a total transaction of $494,274.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,274.42. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president 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. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 12,879 shares of company stock worth $1,177,702 and sold 35,915 shares worth $3,545,300. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE:CHD traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $92.46. 1,962,176 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,429,810. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.50 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.61, a PEG ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.43.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.93 EPS. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.66%.

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.