KBC Group NV Acquires 33,614 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 48.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,409 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,614 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $10,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in Church & Dwight by 1,617.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,292,854 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,568 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 4,161.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,100,410 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,091,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,588 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at $69,384,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 394.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 335,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,147,000 after purchasing an additional 267,801 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,358,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,668,000 after purchasing an additional 175,221 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CHD. Barclays lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered Church & Dwight from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $108.53.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other news, Director Bradley C. Irwin sold 13,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.44, for a total value of $1,418,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,169 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,993,437.36. This represents a 26.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 165,823 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.03, for a total value of $17,084,743.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,613,438.57. This trade represents a 59.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 490,613 shares of company stock worth $50,858,457 in the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

CHD stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $109.02. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,951,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,613,888. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $103.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.26 and a 1 year high of $110.31. The stock has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.89, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.55.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.67%.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.