The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 395,445 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 10,585 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.32% of Clorox worth $64,224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CLX. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $147.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.32.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

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.