O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Purchases 2,725 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,302 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,725 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $5,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,934,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,426,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,335,000 after buying an additional 6,425 shares during the last quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 456.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 49,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 131.0% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $108.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $116.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $107.81 and a 200 day moving average of $106.05.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CHD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.13.

Church & Dwight Company 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 Division (SPD), and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.