Everence Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,230 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 51.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,860 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,230 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 9,470 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 115,583 shares of the company's stock worth $10,930,000 after buying an additional 1,845 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 111,546 shares of the company's stock worth $10,548,000 after buying an additional 1,011 shares during the period. Crown Oak Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $10,142,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $662,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Church & Dwight in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $103.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $761,944.08. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,525,266.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $1,037,763.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $103.20. 806,787 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,293,293. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.53. The company's 50-day moving average price is $101.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.36.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.65. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued 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 1.10%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 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.