Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD Stock Purchased by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 19.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,605 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,959 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,580,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,174,535,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $223,875,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 51.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,050,105 shares of the company’s stock valued at $468,902,000 after buying an additional 1,709,090 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at $153,639,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at $125,483,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $115.00 price target (up from $97.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.44.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, CEO Richard A. Dierker sold 83,340 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.59, for a total transaction of $9,133,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 38,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,639.81. The trade was a 68.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read sold 8,700 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $976,923.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,598 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,439.42. This trade represents a 84.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 137,090 shares of company stock worth $14,811,277 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $111.93 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $100.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.45. The company has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.45. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.49 and a twelve month high of $114.64.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.41%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.3075 dividend. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 37.85%.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight is a consumer products company whose history traces to 1846, when John Dwight and Austin Church began producing baking soda. The company is best known for its ARM & HAMMER brand and sells household, personal care, and specialty products under a portfolio of owned brands. Its products include laundry detergents and cleaners, oral care items, cat litter, deodorants, condoms, pregnancy and ovulation tests, hair-removal products, and water flossers. Brands include OxiClean, Trojan, First Response, Nair, Waterpik, and TheraBreath, alongside ARM & HAMMER.