Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Position Lessened by Legato Capital Management LLC

Legato Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 24.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,872 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,930 shares during the quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CHD. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% during 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, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHD traded down $2.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,723,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,640,525. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $105.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $104.54. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.35 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 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 (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total transaction of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,575. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total value of $874,783.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares of the company's stock, valued at $44,976. This represents a 95.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 102,422 shares of company stock worth $11,424,351. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CHD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.53.

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.