Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Sells 311 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 4.1% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth $209,000. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 5.5% during the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth $206,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 3,988.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 206,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,778,000 after purchasing an additional 201,840 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE CHD opened at $97.04 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.99 and a twelve month high of $116.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $103.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. Church & Dwight’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.05, for a total transaction of $294,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,689.10. This trade represents a 91.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 14,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,518,514.59. The trade was a 35.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 44,195 shares of company stock worth $4,283,432. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CHD. Bank of America upgraded Church & Dwight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial set a $110.00 price target on Church & Dwight and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut 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 seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.67.

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.