Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 850 shares of the company’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $89,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 13.1% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 342,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,755,000 after purchasing an additional 39,695 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 208,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,798,000 after purchasing an additional 23,754 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 74.6% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 67,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,032,000 after purchasing an additional 28,986 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 117.1% during the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 107,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 57,817 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Church & Dwight by 160.1% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 14,483 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $82.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Church & Dwight in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.50.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of CHD opened at $100.52 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $102.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $104.03. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.25 and a 52 week high of $110.31. The stock has a market cap of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.54.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 34.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.