Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,234 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Callan Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Clorox by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 15,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 2,179 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $37,935,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 43,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,126,000 after buying an additional 1,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of CLX opened at $151.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.47.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus 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.