First Financial Bank Trust Division Cuts Holdings in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

First Financial Bank Trust Division lessened its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,910 shares of the company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Church & Dwight during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the second quarter worth $31,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Church & Dwight in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Church & Dwight during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on CHD shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley downgraded Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, September 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $109.56.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of Church & Dwight stock traded down $0.87 on Thursday, reaching $103.84. 1,213,301 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,395,382. The firm has a market cap of $25.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.32 and a 1-year high of $113.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.32.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.50 billion. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 19.90% and a net margin of 9.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.2838 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Church & Dwight

In other Church & Dwight news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 165,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.03, for a total transaction of $17,084,743.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,613,438.57. This trade represents a 59.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur B. Winkleblack sold 11,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total transaction of $1,203,505.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,129 shares in the company, valued at $740,275.36. This trade represents a 61.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 593,035 shares of company stock worth $62,282,808. 2.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Church & Dwight Company 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.