Mizuho Securities USA LLC Raises Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 46,877.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the quarter. Clorox accounts for 1.9% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned 3.64% of Clorox worth $733,095,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of CLX. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Clorox by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $167.69 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.47. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $169.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $20.76 billion, a PE ratio of 58.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.41.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

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.