Portside Wealth Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Portside Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 5.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,938 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Portside Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 42.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD opened at $98.85 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $24.35 billion, a PE ratio of 41.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.99 and a 52-week high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.64%.

Insider Activity

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker bought 7,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $94.66 per share, with a total value of $752,547.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,358 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,448.28. This represents a 94.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 109,765 shares of company stock worth $11,821,881 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CHD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Cowen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Cowen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.00.

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.