Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $74.97 Million Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 716,004 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 115,499 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.29% of Church & Dwight worth $74,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CHD. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555 over the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

CHD stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $105.17. 785,487 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,537,269. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.35 and a 12 month high of $113.50. 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 has a market capitalization of $25.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.66.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This is a boost 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 is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight's payout ratio is 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on CHD shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $111.47.

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, 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.