Marietta Investment Partners LLC Sells 5,243 Shares of Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lowered its stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 26.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,243 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $1,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 4th quarter worth about $639,000. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in Church & Dwight in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,934,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 337,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,368,000 after purchasing an additional 28,129 shares during the period. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 456.2% in the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 60,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,232,000 after purchasing an additional 49,693 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Church & Dwight by 131.0% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.60% of the company’s stock.

Church & Dwight Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CHD opened at $107.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $107.42 and its 200 day moving average is $105.88. The stock has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.57. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.35 and a 1-year high of $116.46.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Church & Dwight Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.295 dividend. This is a boost from Church & Dwight’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Church & Dwight’s payout ratio is 49.79%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Rene Hemsey sold 11,060 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.98, for a total transaction of $1,216,378.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $707,941.26. The trade was a 63.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total value of $6,322,069.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,570 shares of company stock valued at $7,538,449 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on CHD shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Church & Dwight in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $107.00 to $106.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Church & Dwight from $128.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.56.

About Church & Dwight

Church & Dwight Co, Inc engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of household, personal care, and specialty products. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Domestic, Consumer International, Specialty Products Division (SPD), and Corporate. The Consumer Domestic segment offers household products, such as laundry detergents, fabric softener sheets, cat litter, household cleaning products, and personal care products including antiperspirants, oral care products, depilatories, reproductive health products, oral analgesics, nasal saline moisturizers, and dietary supplements.