International Assets Investment Management LLC Invests $23.25 Million in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,250,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 207,365 shares of the company's stock worth $19,608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,480 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth $1,923,000. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 67,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,394,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 8,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $420,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Argus upgraded 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.80.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares of the company's stock, valued at $638,702.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 24,380 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.61, for a total value of $2,526,011.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,958.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,702.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 in the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:CHD traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $101.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,235,176 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,129. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.02. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.25 and a fifty-two week high of $105.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio 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.