Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.47.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,575. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total transaction of $4,426,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,973 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $556,976. This trade represents a 88.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock worth $5,487,555 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $105.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,978,485 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,475,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $105.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a PE ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. Church & Dwight has a 1-year low of $96.35 and a 1-year high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.79%.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, Specialty Products, and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, and household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.