Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. cut its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,453 shares of the company’s stock after selling 140 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CHD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 89.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,283,000 after acquiring an additional 2,839,783 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 99.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 526,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,224,000 after buying an additional 262,801 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 1,474.7% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 233,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,379,000 after purchasing an additional 218,501 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Church & Dwight by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,200,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,405,000 after purchasing an additional 217,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 62.0% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 538,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,314,000 after purchasing an additional 205,983 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus upgraded Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. TheStreet raised Church & Dwight from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,525,266.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 24,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.61, for a total value of $2,526,011.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at $790,958.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,525,266.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 373,052 shares of company stock worth $38,603,796 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE CHD opened at $106.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $82.25 and a 52 week high of $107.42. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $102.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.83. The firm has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.53.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.2838 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.