SG Americas Securities LLC Trims Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 67.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,060 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,265 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $530,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.3% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 32,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,358,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after buying an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 3.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 2.1% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CHD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $103.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $110.61.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total value of $874,783.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,976. This represents a 95.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael Read bought 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $106.82 per share, with a total value of $117,502.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 2,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,584.10. This trade represents a 78.29 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 593,035 shares of company stock worth $62,282,808 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Down 1.6 %

Church & Dwight stock opened at $105.36 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $106.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market cap of $25.81 billion, a PE ratio of 47.24, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.09 and a fifty-two week high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 9.08%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.67%.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, Specialty Products, and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, and household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.