United Asset Strategies Inc. Buys 402 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,989 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 402 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $5,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Clorox from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.54.

Clorox Trading Down 1.1 %

CLX stock opened at $159.12 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.04%.

About Clorox

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.