Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,617 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,531 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Church & Dwight by 224.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Rick Spann sold 39,520 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.00, for a total value of $4,426,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,973 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,976. This trade represents a 88.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,448,575. This trade represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CHD. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.56.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHD traded up $1.95 on Friday, hitting $111.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,949,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,602,582. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.35 and a 1-year high of $113.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $105.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $105.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.79%.

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, 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.