Rodgers Brothers Inc. Sells 297 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. lessened its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,816 shares of the company’s stock after selling 297 shares during the quarter. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $5,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Summit Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 3,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 76.6% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 250,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,683,000 after acquiring an additional 108,631 shares during the period. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. grew its position in Clorox by 26.3% in the 4th quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 2,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Clorox by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,372,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $146.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.01 billion, a PE ratio of 39.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.00. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.50.

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.