Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 5,804 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. by 5.9% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 104,878 shares valued at approximately $11.5 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB, made sizable adjustments to their positions, with Skandinaviska increasing their stake by 120.2%.
• Church & Dwight reported quarterly earnings of $0.91 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, but experienced a 2.4% decline in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 104,878 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,804 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $11,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 12,489.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 861,895 shares of the company's stock worth $94,886,000 after acquiring an additional 855,049 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $49,504,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,018,552 shares of the company's stock worth $316,073,000 after purchasing an additional 393,068 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth $41,743,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $36,493,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:CHD traded down $0.87 on Wednesday, hitting $95.89. The stock had a trading volume of 2,216,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,843,135. The company has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a PE ratio of 41.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $97.33 and its 200 day moving average is $101.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company 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 firm earned $0.96 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $114.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Richard A. Dierker purchased 7,950 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $94.66 per share, for a total transaction of $752,547.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 16,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,548,448.28. This represents a 94.55% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 6,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.30, for a total transaction of $627,154.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 262 shares in the company, valued at $25,754.60. This trade represents a 96.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,575 shares of company stock valued at $4,910,586. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.