California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,108,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,854 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.45% of Church & Dwight worth $116,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHD. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,934,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,426,177 shares of the company's stock worth $149,335,000 after acquiring an additional 6,425 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 456.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company's stock worth $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 49,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 3,272 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD traded down $4.78 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.98. 3,154,322 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,482,709. 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 current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The company's 50-day moving average is $107.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $106.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.72, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.295 dividend. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CHD shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned 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.

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 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.