Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Grows Position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,463 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,132,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 4th quarter valued at $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,934,000. Financial Enhancement Group LLC lifted its stake in Church & Dwight by 456.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after acquiring an additional 49,693 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $76,565,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

CHD opened at $104.66 on Wednesday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.35 and a fifty-two week high of $116.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $107.49 and a 200 day moving average of $105.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.16, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 9.58% and a return on equity of 20.03%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.295 per share. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 49.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $111.56.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total value of $1,216,378.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares in the company, valued at $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total transaction of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This represents a 83.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock worth $7,538,449. Insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.