The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Bought by Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,344 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in Clorox were worth $2,776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $144,844,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at about $128,382,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $128,245,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the first quarter worth about $135,630,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 26.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 882,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,099,000 after purchasing an additional 184,847 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 0.7 %

Clorox stock traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.32. 1,252,142 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,255,593. The company has a fifty day moving average of $139.81 and a 200-day moving average of $142.52. The company has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $114.68 and a twelve month high of $159.05.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a return on equity of 382.58% and a net margin of 3.95%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.4 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 13th. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CLX. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Clorox from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.19.

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.