Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 46.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,220 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,345 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CHD. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 3,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HCR Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 11,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,231,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of CHD stock opened at $106.98 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $107.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.35 and a 12-month high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its 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 return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.295 dividend. This is an increase from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CHD shares. Barclays raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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 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.