Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys 25,080 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 89.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,164 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,080 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,426,177 shares of the company's stock valued at $149,335,000 after buying an additional 6,425 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,154 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,565,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 184,133 shares of the company's stock worth $19,281,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crew Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 144.8% in the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 8,786 shares of the company's stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 5,197 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of CHD traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,171,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,699,762. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.61. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.99 and a 52 week high of $116.46.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 11,875 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.75, for a total value of $1,172,656.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,872.50. This trade represents a 97.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $92.07 per share, with a total value of $276,210.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $506,845.35. The trade was a 119.76% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,765 shares of company stock worth $11,821,881. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.00.

Church & Dwight Company 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.