Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 204,454 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 71.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 204,454 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $8,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on CHD. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $98.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Church & Dwight has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.53.

Insider Activity at Church & Dwight

In related news, Director Arthur B. Winkleblack sold 11,590 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.84, for a total transaction of $1,203,505.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,129 shares in the company, valued at $740,275.36. This represents a 61.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 45,120 shares of Church & Dwight stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.19, for a total transaction of $5,062,012.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,158,361.75. This trade represents a 81.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 543,513 shares of company stock valued at $56,795,253. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $110.36 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $104.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $104.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $27.04 billion, a PE ratio of 49.49, a PEG ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 0.55. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.26 and a 1-year high of $113.50.

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

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.03%. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is currently 50.67%.

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.