Prudential PLC Has $16.63 Million Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Prudential PLC lessened its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,836 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,051 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Church & Dwight worth $16,632,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CHD. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company's stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in Church & Dwight by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 12,124 shares of the company's stock worth $1,270,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $100.98. 348,110 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,489,734. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.35 and a 12 month 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 has a market capitalization of $24.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The business's 50-day moving average price is $107.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $106.09.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Equities analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 1.17%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $6,322,069.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,442.06. The trade was a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was 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 owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on CHD. Barclays upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $112.13.

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.