The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Position Trimmed by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS reduced its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,421,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Clorox by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,518,517,000 after buying an additional 124,428 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 245,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,713,000 after acquiring an additional 33,970 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Clorox by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,334,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,370,000 after purchasing an additional 37,967 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at about $259,041,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $147.28 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.87. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results 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 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. On average, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays cut their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.50.

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.