Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 185,243 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,775 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Church & Dwight worth $17,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 883 shares of the company's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC increased its position in Church & Dwight by 4.4% during the third quarter. Gateway Advisory LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 2.1% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.9% during the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 2,641 shares of the company's stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.2 %

CHD traded up $0.21 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,283,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,298,815. The company has a market cap of $25.88 billion, a PE ratio of 34.90, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.51. 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 Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $82.25 and a 1-year high of $108.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.57 and a 200-day moving average of $97.65.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. Church & Dwight's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $472,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on CHD. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.63.

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.