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

Taurus Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 0.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 251,829 shares of the company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Church & Dwight makes up 2.6% of Taurus Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Taurus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $26,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter valued at $253,000. Swiss National Bank increased its position in Church & Dwight by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 725,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,006,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares in the last quarter. S&CO Inc. boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.7% in the third quarter. S&CO Inc. now owns 652,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 5.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,170,000 after acquiring an additional 1,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 164,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,209,000 after acquiring an additional 3,573 shares in the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Church & Dwight

In other news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 300,000 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total value of $31,152,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,704,740.96. The trade was a 72.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Bradley C. Irwin sold 13,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.44, for a total value of $1,418,208.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,993,437.36. This represents a 26.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 490,613 shares of company stock valued at $50,858,457 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CHD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $101.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.53.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock opened at $109.02 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a PE ratio of 48.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.55. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.26 and a twelve month high of $110.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.02.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 9.08%. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.67%.

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.