Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 315 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 156,473 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $25,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Clorox by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 17,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $207,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Clorox by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,445,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 2.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 8.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 63,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,341,000 after buying an additional 4,839 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $147.32 on Monday. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.20 and a 200-day moving average of $160.23. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CLX. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays increased their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given 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 target price 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.