Carret Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Carret Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,502 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Carret Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $6,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CHD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Church & Dwight by 89.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $552,283,000 after buying an additional 2,839,783 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $259,967,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,004,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,414,000 after purchasing an additional 2,533,877 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Church & Dwight by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,265,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,861,865,000 after buying an additional 354,946 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 26.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,334,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,233,000 after buying an additional 277,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

CHD traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.53. The company had a trading volume of 820,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,310,198. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.25 and a 1 year high of $110.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $25.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $106.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.20.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.49 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.13% and a return on equity of 20.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on CHD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on Church & Dwight from $100.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $109.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $114.00 price objective for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Church & Dwight currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $106.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total value of $5,847,978.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at $1,104,775. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Church & Dwight news, CFO Richard A. Dierker sold 86,740 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.56, for a total value of $9,243,014.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 7,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $813,479.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,654 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.00, for a total transaction of $5,847,978.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,325 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,104,775. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 182,346 shares of company stock worth $19,465,948. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

About Church & Dwight

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.