Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 81,102 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,015,841 shares of the company's stock after selling 81,102 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned about 0.41% of Church & Dwight worth $106,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE CHD traded up $0.47 on Wednesday, reaching $104.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,077,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,555,880. The firm has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.35 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50. The business has a 50 day moving average of $105.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $104.66.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 49.79%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 45,120 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.19, for a total value of $5,062,012.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,158,361.75. The trade was a 81.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $267,584.10. This trade represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 102,422 shares of company stock valued at $11,424,351. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.53.

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, 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.