Fmr LLC Increases Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 883,340 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 43,378 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 0.36% of Church & Dwight worth $92,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $318,532,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company's stock worth $768,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,190,154 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at about $76,565,000. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the third quarter valued at about $58,338,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 63.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,106,131 shares of the company's stock worth $115,832,000 after purchasing an additional 431,257 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85 % 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 Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their position. 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 ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America upgraded Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.59.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD traded down $2.20 during trading on Monday, reaching $103.17. 2,038,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,518,126. The stock has a market cap of $25.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.53, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $107.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.295 dividend. 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 1.14%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 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 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.