Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Reaches New 52-Week Low on Insider Selling

Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $90.99 and last traded at $94.60, with a volume of 1124139 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $91.57.

Specifically, Director Penry W. Price sold 14,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total value of $1,365,285.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,518,514.59. This represents a 35.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America raised Church & Dwight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $112.00 to $125.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.13.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 3.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.54. The stock has a market cap of $23.34 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 50.64%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the first quarter worth about $53,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth approximately $215,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 143.1% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 541,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,602,000 after acquiring an additional 318,706 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 11.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 493,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,358,000 after acquiring an additional 51,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Church & Dwight by 6.8% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 15,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,684,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.60% 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.