Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. Lowers Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. trimmed its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 80.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,288 shares during the period. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $85,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,089 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 960 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Clorox by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 8,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,283,000 after buying an additional 2,098 shares during the period. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the company’s stock valued at $681,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Clorox from $132.00 to $122.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.13.

Clorox Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Clorox stock traded up $0.84 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $132.57. 602,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,424. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.64 and its 200 day moving average is $142.52. The firm has a market cap of $16.46 billion, a PE ratio of 68.25, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.39. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $169.14.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. Clorox had a return on equity of 302.49% and a net margin of 3.33%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 248.71%.

Clorox Company 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.