Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 130,000 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 21.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 488,576 shares of the company's stock after selling 130,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.20% of Church & Dwight worth $51,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 224.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $51,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of CHD traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $104.51. The stock had a trading volume of 272,249 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,506,754. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $116.46. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $107.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.09. 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 firm has a market cap of $25.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55.

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 net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. 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. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CHD. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America raised Church & Dwight from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $112.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total value of $6,322,069.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.