Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 41,804 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 290.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,221 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 41,804 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 1,474.7% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 233,318 shares of the company's stock worth $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 218,501 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,291,982 shares of the company's stock valued at $301,645,000 after buying an additional 61,090 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1,018.1% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 103,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,524,000 after buying an additional 94,639 shares during the period. Comerica Bank acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at approximately $142,130,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 11.5% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 363,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,329,000 after buying an additional 37,428 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Church & Dwight from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $102.80.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD traded up $0.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $105.02. 1,504,221 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,302,212. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $101.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $95.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.25 and a twelve month high of $105.67.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $472,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $472,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $28,553,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,703,613.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.