Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) Shares Sold by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co lessened its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 860 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 4.9% in the second quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,359,000. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 446 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,866 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,191,000 after purchasing an additional 159,233 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Church & Dwight by 2.1% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,586,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,566,000 after buying an additional 153,127 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE CHD opened at $102.61 on Thursday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.25 and a fifty-two week high of $110.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $102.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.53.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CHD. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. BNP Paribas started coverage on Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.58.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total value of $5,895,423.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at $429,179.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

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.