Welch & Forbes LLC Cuts Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD

Key Points

• Welch & Forbes LLC reduced its stake in Church & Dwight by 7.0% in the first quarter, selling 28,420 shares and ending with 378,902 shares valued at about $35.4 million.
• Church & Dwight reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $0.95 and revenue of $1.47 billion, both slightly above analyst expectations. The company also issued guidance for Q2 2026 EPS of $0.88 and FY 2026 EPS of $3.71 to $3.81.
• Insider selling and mixed analyst sentiment continued, including recent stock sales by two directors and a consensus Wall Street rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $102.88.

Welch & Forbes LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,902 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,420 shares during the period. Welch & Forbes LLC owned about 0.16% of Church & Dwight worth $35,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 10,760 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,004,000 after acquiring an additional 2,380 shares during the period. Midwest Trust Co increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 141,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 604.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 97,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,054,000 after purchasing an additional 83,245 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in Church & Dwight by 874.9% in the first quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 113,469 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,589,000 after purchasing an additional 101,830 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Church & Dwight by 9.3% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,131 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $96.36. 1,368,802 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,872,933. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.33 and a twelve month high of $106.04. The company has a market cap of $22.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.23.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.46 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.51% and a net margin of 11.81%.The company's revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Church & Dwight has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.880-0.880 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.710-3.810 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.3075 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 40.46%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Robert K. Shearer sold 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.97, for a total value of $842,542.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,678 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,005,523.66. This represents a 21.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 5,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.86, for a total transaction of $565,365.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,070 shares in the company, valued at $2,852,440.20. This trade represents a 16.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,680 shares of company stock worth $4,672,190. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHD. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $114.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore set a $105.00 price target on Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Church & Dwight from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.88.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a U.S.-based consumer products company best known for its Arm & Hammer baking soda business. Founded in 1846 with the manufacture and marketing of sodium bicarbonate, the company has grown into a diversified maker and marketer of household, personal care and specialty products. Church & Dwight is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker CHD and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey.

The company's portfolio spans a range of categories including household cleaning and laundry, oral care, personal care, sexual wellness and health & wellness.

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