MSH Capital Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 4,023 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,023 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $421,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $318,532,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company's stock valued at $768,157,000 after buying an additional 1,190,154 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,565,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,338,000. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,504,000. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $103.89. 442,335 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,686,062. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.35 and a 52 week high of $116.46. The stock has a market cap of $25.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.84, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $107.17 and its 200-day moving average is $106.15.

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

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $707,941.26. This represents a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on CHD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $112.59.

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.