Vontobel Holding Ltd. Boosts Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 18.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,851 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,257 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $9,561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CHD. IAG Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 92.9% in the first 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. acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the 1st 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. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael Read bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $92.07 per share, for a total transaction of $276,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,845.35. The trade was a 119.76% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker acquired 7,950 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $94.66 per share, for a total transaction of $752,547.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,358 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,448.28. This 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 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,204,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,754,418. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.99 and a 52 week high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.81. The firm has a market cap of $24.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.24, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 19.28% and a net margin of 9.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CHD. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group cut their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.