Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 115,499 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 716,004 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 115,499 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of Church & Dwight worth $74,973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of CHD stock opened at $104.33 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $105.40 and its 200 day moving average is $104.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.02, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.35 and a twelve month high of $113.50.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders 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 1.13%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In related news, CAO Joseph James Longo sold 7,780 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.44, for a total value of $874,783.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 400 shares in the company, valued at $44,976. The trade was a 95.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 $267,584.10. This represents a 78.29 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 57,302 shares of company stock valued at $6,362,338 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $99.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.53.

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.