Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $112.00 to $117.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 6.72% from the company’s previous close.

CHD has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating and set a $83.00 price target (down from $86.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price (up from $100.00) on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Church & Dwight in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.25.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded up $2.40 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $109.63. 649,962 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,063,656. The stock has a market cap of $26.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.68, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $99.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.66. Church & Dwight has a 12 month low of $81.49 and a 12 month high of $111.23.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 12.41% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Church & Dwight will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, Director Bradley C. Irwin sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.69, for a total value of $441,567.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 35,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,663,363.06. This represents a 10.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur B. Winkleblack sold 13,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.83, for a total value of $1,357,356.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $733,075.07. The trade was a 64.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,250 shares of company stock worth $5,462,048 over the last quarter. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Church & Dwight

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. North Dakota State Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 7,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 5.3% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 5,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $506,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.4% in the first quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 35,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc is a consumer packaged goods company that develops, manufactures and markets household, personal care and specialty products. Its portfolio is anchored by the ARM & HAMMER brand, which is used across products such as baking soda, laundry detergent, cat litter, household cleaners, oral care products and personal care items.

The company also markets a broad range of branded products, including OxiClean laundry and cleaning products, Trojan sexual wellness products, Waterpik oral health devices, First Response pregnancy and fertility tests, Nair hair-removal products, Orajel oral pain relief, TheraBreath oral care products, and vitamins and supplements sold under the Vitafusion and L’il Critters brands.