41,524 Shares in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,744,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $447,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 98,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,045,000 after purchasing an additional 21,970 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 76,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,408,000 after purchasing an additional 11,606 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Clorox by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 11,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,905,000 after purchasing an additional 3,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP raised its holdings in Clorox by 1,862.9% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 5,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $867,000 after buying an additional 5,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE CLX opened at $141.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. 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 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $152.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson decreased 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

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.