Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Cuts Stock Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lowered its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,990 shares of the company’s stock after selling 484 shares during the period. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 2,087.5% in the 4th quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Koesten Hirschmann & Crabtree INC. acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Church & Dwight by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 0.6 %

CHD stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.36. The stock had a trading volume of 912,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,282,419. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $26.19 billion, a PE ratio of 35.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.53. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $82.25 and a 12-month high of $107.56.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.28% and a net margin of 12.88%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total transaction of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $638,702.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Church & Dwight news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 9,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.22, for a total value of $930,041.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $638,702.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Penry W. Price sold 7,752 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.29, for a total transaction of $761,944.08. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,525,266.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 373,052 shares of company stock valued at $38,603,796. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.07.

Church & Dwight Profile

Church & Dwight Co, Inc develops, manufactures, and markets household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates in three segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, and Specialty Products Division. The company offers cat litters, carpet deodorizers, laundry detergents, and baking soda, as well as other baking soda based products under the ARM & HAMMER brand; condoms, lubricants, and vibrators under the TROJAN brand; stain removers, cleaning solutions, laundry detergents, and bleach alternatives under the OXICLEAN brand; toothbrushes under the SPINBRUSH brand; home pregnancy and ovulation test kits under the FIRST RESPONSE brand; depilatories under the NAIR brand; oral analgesics under the ORAJEL brand; laundry detergents under the XTRA brand; gummy dietary supplements under the L'IL CRITTERS and VITAFUSION brands; dry shampoos under the BATISTE brand; water flossers and showerheads under the WATERPIK brand; cold shortening and relief products under the ZICAM brand; oral care products under the THERABREATH brand; and acne treatment products under the HERO brand.