American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 48.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,115,040 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 688,863 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.86% of Church & Dwight worth $232,845,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 92.9% during the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 270 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter worth $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 42.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 90.9% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CHD shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Church & Dwight from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Church & Dwight from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $110.00 target price on Church & Dwight and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 14,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total transaction of $1,451,340.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,953. This represents a 51.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $91.27 per share, for a total transaction of $182,540.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president owned 7,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $684,981.35. This represents a 36.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 12,879 shares of company stock worth $1,177,702 and sold 35,915 shares worth $3,545,300. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD opened at $92.46 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.76. The company has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.84. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.50 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.66%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.66%.

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.