Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Stake Lifted by Simplicity Solutions LLC

Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 69.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,257 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,762 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 148,186 shares of the company's stock worth $14,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,509 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 27.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the company's stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 226.2% in the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 55,918 shares of the company's stock worth $5,557,000 after acquiring an additional 38,777 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 119.2% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,674 shares of the company's stock worth $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 12,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 54.6% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.00.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $28,553,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,703,613.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $28,553,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,703,613.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CHD stock traded down $0.50 on Friday, hitting $101.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,164,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,447. The company's 50 day moving average price is $101.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.16. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.25 and a 1 year high of $105.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 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.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 (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.