Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Stock Price Up 2% - What's Next?

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) traded up 2% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $113.56 and last traded at $113.00. 267,128 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,470,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.13.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $25.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.09.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 posted $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $707,941.26. This represents a 63.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Church & Dwight

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.