Gabelli Funds LLC Sells 600 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Gabelli Funds LLC decreased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 0.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 148,600 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.06% of Church & Dwight worth $15,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the first quarter worth $28,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total transaction of $5,895,423.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,179.03. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of CHD opened at $103.51 on Tuesday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.25 and a 1 year high of $110.31. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $104.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.53 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $25.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CHD. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.58.

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.