Focus Financial Network Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 5.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,867 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 89.3% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 53,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,567,000 after purchasing an additional 25,080 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,426,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $149,335,000 after purchasing an additional 6,425 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,190,154 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,565,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 184,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,281,000 after acquiring an additional 21,742 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Trading Down 2.1%

CHD stock opened at $97.04 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.98. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other news, EVP Michael Read acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $92.07 per share, with a total value of $276,210.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $506,845.35. This represents a 119.76% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Carlen Hooker sold 11,875 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.75, for a total transaction of $1,172,656.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,872.50. The trade was a 97.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 44,195 shares of company stock valued at $4,283,432 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Cowen lowered Church & Dwight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Church & Dwight from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $102.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Church & Dwight from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $100.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $108.67.

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.