Fiduciary Group LLC Raises Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Fiduciary Group LLC increased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 20,374 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP grew its position in Clorox by 512.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,315,000 after acquiring an additional 453,624 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in Clorox by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after acquiring an additional 308,234 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,390,000 after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Clorox by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,947,000 after acquiring an additional 245,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $37,935,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $145.33 on Thursday. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.71, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 yield of 3.36%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

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.