SPC Financial Inc. Grows Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,760 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $611,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Clorox by 144.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Carrera Capital Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $2,854,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 363,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,045,000 after acquiring an additional 39,942 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 748,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,502,000 after acquiring an additional 24,214 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $78,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $149.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $156.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.41. The company has a market capitalization of $18.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

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.