AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 31.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,019,404 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 245,697 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $106,742,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 224.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $97.00 to $94.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded Church & Dwight from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $112.00 to $125.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.29.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,217,442.06. The trade was a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $707,941.26. This trade represents a 63.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $99.19 on Wednesday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.35 and a 12 month high of $116.46. The company has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $106.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.11.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.295 dividend. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. This is a positive change from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.79%.

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 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.