Short Interest in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Rises By 12.5%

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,910,000 shares, a growth of 12.5% from the February 29th total of 6,140,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,270,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.4 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Church & Dwight from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $100.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. Citigroup lowered shares of Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $451,551.45. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $638,702.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CHD. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 106,565.5% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,688,996 shares of the company's stock worth $539,200,000 after purchasing an additional 6,682,725 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 89.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $552,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839,783 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $259,967,000. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,004,713 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,533,877 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 25.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,148,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $253,808,000 after acquiring an additional 645,291 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.7 %

CHD traded up $0.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $105.02. 1,504,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,212. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $101.03 and a 200 day moving average of $95.59. Church & Dwight has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $105.67.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.