Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP Sells 324,618 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP trimmed its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 68.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 148,588 shares of the company’s stock after selling 324,618 shares during the quarter. Clorox makes up approximately 2.2% of Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP’s holdings in Clorox were worth $22,750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 308.5% during the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded down $2.17 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $131.72. 1,516,395 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,236,900. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $169.14. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $133.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 302.49% and a net margin of 3.33%. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 248.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Clorox from $158.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Clorox from $164.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Clorox from $132.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.13.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Health and Wellness, Household, Lifestyle, and International. The Health and Wellness segment offers cleaning products, such as laundry additives and home care products primarily under the Clorox, Clorox2, Scentiva, Pine-Sol, Liquid-Plumr, Tilex, and Formula 409 brands; professional cleaning and disinfecting products under the CloroxPro and Clorox Healthcare brands; professional food service products under the Hidden Valley brand; and vitamins, minerals and supplement products under the RenewLife, Natural Vitality, NeoCell, and Rainbow Light brands in the United States.