ING Groep NV Reduces Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

ING Groep NV lessened its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,386 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $3,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 224.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Michael Read acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $106.82 per share, for a total transaction of $117,502.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ravichandra Krishnamu Saligram sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.11, for a total value of $1,061,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,448,575. This represents a 23.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,522 shares of company stock valued at $5,487,555 over the last ninety days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $105.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.70 and a quick ratio of 1.24. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a one year low of $96.35 and a one year high of $113.50. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.59.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on CHD shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.47.

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, 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.