Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD – Get Rating) by 51.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,344 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,722 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 11.7% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 148,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,670,000 after purchasing an additional 15,509 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 27.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,078 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 226.2% during the first quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 55,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 38,777 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 119.2% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,253,000 after purchasing an additional 12,328 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 54.6% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares during the period. 80.86% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
CHD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $85.00 to $83.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.81.
Church & Dwight Price Performance
Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.70% and a net margin of 7.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Church & Dwight Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 15th were issued a $0.2725 dividend. This represents a $1.09 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.88%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Penry W. Price sold 17,544 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.90, for a total value of $1,471,941.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,311 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,039,692.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
About Church & Dwight
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.
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