Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,469 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,234 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $3,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,242,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Church & Dwight by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,368,000 after buying an additional 28,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC grew its position in Church & Dwight by 456.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,232,000 after buying an additional 49,693 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 45,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.19, for a total value of $5,062,012.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,158,361.75. This trade represents a 81.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total transaction of $874,783.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,976. This trade represents a 95.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 102,422 shares of company stock worth $11,424,351 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.53.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

NYSE:CHD traded up $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $107.58. 1,230,231 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,577,598. The firm's 50-day moving average is $105.55 and its 200-day moving average is $104.46. The stock has a market cap of $26.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.09 and a 1-year high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued 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 is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.68%.

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, 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.