Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 36,237 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $3,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.9 %

CHD opened at $106.22 on Thursday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.25 and a twelve month high of $110.31. The company has a market cap of $25.97 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $102.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.87.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Church & Dwight’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 86,740 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.56, for a total value of $9,243,014.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $813,479.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,654 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $5,847,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,775. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 86,740 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.56, for a total transaction of $9,243,014.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 7,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $813,479.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 200,722 shares of company stock valued at $20,986,416 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CHD. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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 boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.58.

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.