Securian Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,525 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the third quarter worth $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $147.32 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $160.17. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The firm has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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 period last year, the business earned $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

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

Clorox 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.