Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) EVP Michael Read Sells 8,700 Shares of Stock

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) EVP Michael Read sold 8,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.29, for a total transaction of $976,923.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 1,598 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,439.42. This represents a 84.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:CHD opened at $111.46 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.30, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.08. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.49 and a 12 month high of $114.64.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.3075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.85%.

Church & Dwight News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Church & Dwight this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reiterated its “overweight” rating and raised its target to $115; Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $117, and reports also cite favorable calls from JPMorgan and Citigroup. The analyst optimism follows Church & Dwight’s recent quarterly earnings and revenue beat. Wells Fargo rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is not uniformly bullish: Morgan Stanley’s higher target came with an “equal weight” rating, and Barclays maintained a “sell” rating. This disagreement tempers the positive target revisions. Barclays rating
• Negative Sentiment: Several company insiders reported selling shares, led by CEO Richard Dierker, who sold 83,340 shares (about $9.1 million), reducing his holdings by 68.31%. EVP Michael Read sold 8,700 shares, and Director Ravichandra Saligram sold 5,000; director Bradley Irwin also recently sold 4,300. The filings do not specify why the shares were sold, but the transactions may create a near-term sentiment headwind. CEO filing EVP filing Director filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHD has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Church & Dwight from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.44.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 815.8% during the third quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Field & Main Bank bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 516.4% during the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 376 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and markets household, personal care and specialty products. Its portfolio is anchored by the ARM & HAMMER brand, which is used across products such as baking soda, laundry detergent, cat litter, household cleaners, oral care products and personal care items.

The company also markets a broad range of branded products, including OxiClean laundry and cleaning products, Trojan sexual wellness products, Waterpik oral health devices, First Response pregnancy and fertility tests, Nair hair-removal products, Orajel oral pain relief, TheraBreath oral care products, and vitamins and supplements sold under the Vitafusion and L’il Critters brands.