Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) EVP Michael Read Sells 8,700 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• EVP Michael Read sold 8,700 Church & Dwight shares for about $977,000 at an average price of $112.29, reducing his holdings by 84.48% to 1,598 shares.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $0.92 per share, topping the $0.90 estimate, while revenue of $1.60 billion also exceeded expectations and rose 1% year over year.
• Church & Dwight declared a quarterly dividend of $0.3075 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.1%; analysts’ overall rating remained “Hold,” with an average price target of $108.44.

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) EVP Michael Read sold 8,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total value of $976,923.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 1,598 shares of the company's stock, valued at $179,439.42. The trade was a 84.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded down $0.43 on Thursday, hitting $111.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,018,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,069,856. The stock has a market cap of $26.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.45. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $81.49 and a one year high of $114.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $99.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.98.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.3075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 815.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 348 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 516.4% in the 3rd quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 376 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $97.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Eight research 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $108.44.

Key Stories Impacting Church & Dwight

Here are the key news stories impacting Church & Dwight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts have raised their price targets or expressed optimism. Wells Fargo lifted its target to $115, Morgan Stanley to $117, and JPMorgan and Citi also issued favorable outlooks. Recent quarterly results beat estimates, offering a positive backdrop. Analyst outlooks
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is not uniformly bullish: some target increases came with neutral or equal-weight ratings, and the broader consensus remains “Hold.” Barclays analyst coverage
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Richard Dierker sold 83,340 shares for about $9.1 million, cutting his reported stake by 68.31%. The filing does not state the reason for the sale. CEO share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Director Bradley Irwin also sold 4,300 shares, worth about $475,000, reducing his direct holdings by 10.76%. Director share sale
• Negative Sentiment: Barclays maintained a sell rating and a cautious price target, contrasting with recent target increases from other firms. Barclays rating

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and markets household, personal care and specialty products. Its portfolio is anchored by the ARM & HAMMER brand, which is used across products such as baking soda, laundry detergent, cat litter, household cleaners, oral care products and personal care items.

The company also markets a broad range of branded products, including OxiClean laundry and cleaning products, Trojan sexual wellness products, Waterpik oral health devices, First Response pregnancy and fertility tests, Nair hair-removal products, Orajel oral pain relief, TheraBreath oral care products, and vitamins and supplements sold under the Vitafusion and L'il Critters brands.

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