LPL Financial LLC Acquires 21,742 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,133 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 21,742 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Church & Dwight worth $19,281,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CHD. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in Church & Dwight by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CHD. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $112.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD stock traded down $4.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,154,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,482,709. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $96.35 and a one year high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $107.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.10.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Church & Dwight 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.