Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 1,362 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,362 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $9,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 69.5% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 26,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after purchasing an additional 10,762 shares in the last quarter. Crown Oak Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,142,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 290.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 56,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,316,000 after purchasing an additional 41,804 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 1,474.7% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 233,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 218,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 109,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,213,000 after acquiring an additional 19,246 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $104.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $25.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.25 and a fifty-two week high of $105.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $102.01 and a 200-day moving average of $96.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.65. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current 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. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total transaction of $28,553,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,703,613.77. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,702.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 275,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.83, for a total value of $28,553,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,703,613.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.27.

Church & Dwight Company 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.