Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $9.40 Million Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,800 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,358 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $9,402,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company's stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company's stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, CEO Richard A. Dierker purchased 7,950 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $94.66 per share, with a total value of $752,547.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,548,448.28. This trade represents a 94.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $707,941.26. This represents a 63.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 80,230 shares of company stock valued at $8,903,734. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen lowered shares of Church & Dwight from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $100.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $109.13.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $95.92. The stock had a trading volume of 2,058,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,635,006. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.99 and a 1-year high of $116.46. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $102.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.47, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The business had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. Church & Dwight's revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.64%.

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.