Swedbank AB Raises Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Swedbank AB grew its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,868 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,161 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of Church & Dwight worth $15,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 5.7% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,016,345 shares of the company's stock worth $839,472,000 after acquiring an additional 429,863 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.5% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,358,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,668,000 after acquiring an additional 175,221 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $146,556,000 after acquiring an additional 16,257 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 1,617.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,292,854 shares of the company's stock worth $134,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 15.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,866 shares of the company's stock worth $121,191,000 after purchasing an additional 159,233 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHD. Morgan Stanley cut 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 cut their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $108.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total transaction of $31,152,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares in the company, valued at $11,704,740.96. This represents a 72.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 45,120 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.19, for a total transaction of $5,062,012.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,158,361.75. This represents a 81.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 543,513 shares of company stock worth $56,795,253. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.5 %

CHD stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $110.96. The stock had a trading volume of 270,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,396,271. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.26 and a twelve month high of $113.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.48, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $104.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.25.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. The business 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 was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.67%.

About Church & Dwight

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.