Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Sold by Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. reduced its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 188,874 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,900 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.08% of Church & Dwight worth $19,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $318,532,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,154 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $76,565,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth $58,338,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $49,504,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock opened at $99.10 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.35 and a 1 year high of $116.46. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $106.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $106.14. The company has a market cap of $24.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CHD shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.13.

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.

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