Trust Co. of Vermont Raises Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 98,570 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $10,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,116,334 shares of the company's stock worth $1,373,542,000 after acquiring an additional 969,006 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 5.7% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,016,345 shares of the company's stock worth $839,472,000 after purchasing an additional 429,863 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,295,527 shares of the company's stock worth $449,830,000 after purchasing an additional 21,607 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,358,179 shares of the company's stock worth $351,668,000 after purchasing an additional 175,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,399,502 shares of the company's stock worth $146,556,000 after buying an additional 16,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.42. 1,712,775 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,106. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.09 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50. The firm's fifty day moving average is $106.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.58.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 9.08%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Michael Read purchased 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $267,584.10. The trade was a 78.29 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total transaction of $1,061,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,575. The trade was a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 593,035 shares of company stock valued at $62,282,808. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on CHD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Barclays raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $103.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $110.61.

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.