Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,349,676 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,034 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.55% of Church & Dwight worth $127,625,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Welch & Forbes LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 447,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,276,000 after purchasing an additional 7,078 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 108.0% during the 4th quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,116 shares of the company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 2,656 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,165 shares of the company's stock worth $1,434,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $157,000. Finally, Summit Trail Advisors LLC grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 3,924 shares of the company's stock worth $371,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $114.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $105.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $472,500.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Michael Read sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $472,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert K. Shearer sold 13,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.36, for a total transaction of $1,403,952.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 29,108 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,095,926.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 376,972 shares of company stock worth $39,133,366. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.2 %

Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $107.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 680,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,247,564. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.25 and a 52-week high of $108.68. The firm's 50 day moving average is $104.34 and its 200 day moving average is $98.34. The company has a market cap of $26.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.10. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

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.