Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $110.31 and last traded at $110.22, with a volume of 656330 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $109.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CHD shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Church & Dwight in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Church & Dwight from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Church & Dwight currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $108.53.

Church & Dwight Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $103.48 and a 200 day moving average of $104.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a PE ratio of 49.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.45 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.2838 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Matthew Farrell sold 165,823 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Arthur B. Winkleblack sold 11,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 490,613 shares of company stock worth $50,858,457 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Church & Dwight

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 50,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,242,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Church & Dwight by 13.1% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 342,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,755,000 after purchasing an additional 39,695 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 74.6% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 67,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,032,000 after purchasing an additional 28,986 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Church & Dwight by 160.1% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 23,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 14,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis raised its holdings in shares of Church & Dwight by 434.9% during the first quarter. Natixis now owns 26,121 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,725,000 after purchasing an additional 21,238 shares during the period. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.