Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Boosts Stake in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV increased its position in Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (NYSE:CHD) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 30,843 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Church & Dwight were worth $3,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,691,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,213,661,000 after buying an additional 193,602 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,336,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $768,157,000 after buying an additional 1,190,154 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,915,390 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,794,000 after buying an additional 148,234 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Church & Dwight by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,316,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,975,000 after buying an additional 20,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Church & Dwight in the fourth quarter worth about $318,532,000. 86.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Church & Dwight Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:CHD opened at $95.92 on Friday. Church & Dwight Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $90.99 and a 52-week high of $116.46. The stock has a market cap of $23.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50 day moving average is $102.30 and its 200 day moving average is $105.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Church & Dwight (NYSE:CHD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.02. Church & Dwight had a return on equity of 20.03% and a net margin of 9.58%. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 earnings per share. Church & Dwight’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Church & Dwight Co., Inc. will post 3.7 EPS for the current year.

Church & Dwight Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.295 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Church & Dwight’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CHD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Church & Dwight from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $120.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $94.00 to $84.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Church & Dwight from $105.00 to $100.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $109.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Richard A. Dierker acquired 7,950 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $94.66 per share, with a total value of $752,547.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 16,358 shares in the company, valued at $1,548,448.28. This trade represents a 94.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Maynadier Patrick D. De sold 54,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.98, for a total value of $6,322,069.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,217,442.06. This trade represents a 83.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,230 shares of company stock valued at $8,903,734 over the last quarter. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Church & Dwight Company Profile

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.