Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Trims Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. trimmed its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 66,587 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,051 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $6,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 21.4% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,213,000 after buying an additional 19,246 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $210,000. Boit C F David grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Boit C F David now owns 29,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,766,000 after buying an additional 2,850 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $23,250,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 207,365 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,608,000 after buying an additional 3,480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. TheStreet raised shares of Church & Dwight from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $103.27.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 112,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,703,613.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 24,380 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $790,958.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

CHD stock traded up $0.55 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $101.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,218,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,166. The company has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.16. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.25 and a 1-year high of $105.67. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. Church & Dwight's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 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. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This is an increase from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

Church & Dwight Profile

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.