The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Bought by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 86,194 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,745 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Clorox were worth $13,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position 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 during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price target on shares of Clorox and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.23.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $134.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.03. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 87.61%.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.