Vinva Investment Management Ltd Increases Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 147.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,952 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Clorox by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,947,000 after buying an additional 245,525 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $491,713,000 after buying an additional 33,970 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Clorox by 1.7% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,334,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,370,000 after buying an additional 37,967 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 27.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 776,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,456,000 after purchasing an additional 168,111 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CLX. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.62.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $145.46 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

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.