Virtu Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 15,307 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,603,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CHD. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in 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. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.5% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CHD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed 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 increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $111.81.

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Church & Dwight Price Performance

NYSE:CHD traded up $2.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $108.50. 1,051,487 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,389,952. The stock's 50-day moving average is $107.55 and its 200-day moving average is $105.89. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.35 and a twelve month high of $116.46. The firm has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 45.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Church & Dwight's dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449 over the last three months. Insiders own 2.00% of the company's stock.

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 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.