Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 731,213 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 731,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,565,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Church & Dwight as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 9.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company's stock worth $35,368,000 after purchasing an additional 28,129 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 456.2% during the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company's stock worth $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 49,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 131.0% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% of the company's stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Church & Dwight stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $109.51. 2,196,830 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,603,497. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.35 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46. The stock has a market cap of $26.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24.

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Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. 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 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $707,941.26. This represents a 63.21 % 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, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,448,575. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 75,570 shares of company stock worth $8,599,549 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CHD. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $111.56.

About Church & Dwight

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.