48,682 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. $CHD Shares Sold by Walter Public Investments Inc.

Walter Public Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 52.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 44,497 shares of the company’s stock after selling 48,682 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,174,535,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,050,105 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,902,000 after buying an additional 1,709,090 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Church & Dwight by 18.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,925,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,447,000 after buying an additional 457,445 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Church & Dwight by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,548,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,861,000 after buying an additional 572,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Church & Dwight by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,170,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $202,597,000 after buying an additional 64,803 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CHD. Wall Street Zen upgraded Church & Dwight from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 10th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $115.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.44.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $111.93 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $100.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.45. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.49 and a 52-week high of $114.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 34.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.45.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Saligram sold 5,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.69, for a total value of $563,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 3,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $411,656.57. This trade represents a 57.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker sold 83,340 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.59, for a total value of $9,133,230.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 38,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,236,639.81. This represents a 68.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,090 shares of company stock worth $14,811,277. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.