Optimize Financial Inc Takes $474,000 Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,528 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CHD. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Church & Dwight by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company's stock valued at $282,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock worth $345,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,231,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. The trade was a 83.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CHD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.59.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CHD traded up $2.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $105.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,703,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,511,194. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 44.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.35 and a 12 month high of $116.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $107.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.07.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS 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 dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.12%. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 49.79%.

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 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.