Prudential Financial Inc. Has $13.93 Million Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 11.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,992 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,665 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.05% of Church & Dwight worth $13,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Church & Dwight by 224.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.5% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 575 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Church & Dwight from $93.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were 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 owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 2.1 %

CHD opened at $108.50 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $107.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.91. The firm has a market cap of $26.70 billion, a PE ratio of 45.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.35 and a twelve month high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.79%.

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.