Montag & Caldwell LLC Sells 89,576 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Montag & Caldwell LLC cut its position in shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 69.7% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 38,960 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,576 shares during the quarter. Montag & Caldwell LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $4,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Church & Dwight by 1.2% during 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. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Church & Dwight by 1.0% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 9,097,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,968,000 after purchasing an additional 92,862 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,586,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $786,566,000 after buying an additional 153,127 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter valued at about $259,967,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Church & Dwight by 1.8% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,783,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $186,028,000 after acquiring an additional 31,145 shares during the last quarter. 86.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHD has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut Church & Dwight from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, September 9th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $116.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Church & Dwight from $116.00 to $108.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Church & Dwight from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.58.

Church & Dwight Price Performance

Church & Dwight stock opened at $104.04 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $102.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $104.16. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $82.25 and a 12 month high of $110.31.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.51 billion. Church & Dwight had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 19.86%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. Analysts expect that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a dividend of $0.2838 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Barry A. Bruno sold 59,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.37, for a total value of $5,895,423.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $429,179.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Church & Dwight 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.