Eads & Heald Wealth Management Sells 283 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,840 shares of the company’s stock after selling 283 shares during the quarter. Church & Dwight accounts for approximately 1.3% of Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crown Oak Advisors LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,142,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 290.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,316,000 after acquiring an additional 41,804 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 1,474.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 233,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,379,000 after buying an additional 218,501 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 21.4% in the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,213,000 after buying an additional 19,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $662,000. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.27.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at $2,525,266.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total value of $761,944.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,525,266.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 9,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.55, for a total transaction of $1,037,763.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $451,551.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of CHD stock traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $101.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,218,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,166. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $101.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.16. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $82.25 and a 52-week high of $105.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.79 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.88% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. Church & Dwight’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is presently 37.17%.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.