Oak Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Oak Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 2.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,916 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $2,303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CHD. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 42.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 378 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust bought a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 86.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, Director Penry W. Price sold 14,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.13, for a total transaction of $1,365,285.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,518,514.59. This trade represents a 35.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard A. Dierker acquired 7,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $94.66 per share, with a total value of $752,547.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,548,448.28. This represents a 94.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,765 shares of company stock worth $11,821,881. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $99.65 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.05, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.99 and a 52 week high of $116.46.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.64%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CHD has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $98.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Church & Dwight from $106.00 to $102.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $110.00.

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.