MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,015 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 37,861 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,015 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $6,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the third quarter worth about $363,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 27.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 776,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,456,000 after buying an additional 168,111 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $914,000. Finally, Diversified LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the third quarter worth approximately $237,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $167.17 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $163.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $149.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.00.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.