Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,272 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,376 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $95.99 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $23.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $102.04 and a 200 day moving average of $105.27. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $90.99 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. Church & Dwight’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.295 per share. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.64%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CHD shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $707,941.26. This represents a 63.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,230 shares of company stock valued at $8,903,734 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.