Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 148,234 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,915,390 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 148,234 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.41% of Church & Dwight worth $617,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,691,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,213,661,000 after purchasing an additional 193,602 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,373,542,000 after buying an additional 969,006 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company's stock worth $768,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,154 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,295,527 shares of the company's stock worth $449,830,000 after acquiring an additional 21,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $318,532,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CHD traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $102.06. 2,203,291 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,499,670. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.05. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a PE ratio of 43.06, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.35 and a 52 week high of $116.46.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CHD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.13.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,442.06. The trade was a 83.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

About Church & Dwight

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 Division (SPD), and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.