Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 3,042,042 Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,042,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $318,532,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.24% of Church & Dwight at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CHD. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

NYSE:CHD opened at $109.14 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.35 and a 1-year high of $116.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $107.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.93. The firm has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a PE ratio of 46.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. 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 (NYSE:CHD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is 49.79%.

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 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.