Commerce Bank Reduces Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Commerce Bank lowered its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 595 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Clorox were worth $4,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth $1,579,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc lifted its position in Clorox by 3.1% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 9.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Clorox by 2.7% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $169.31 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 58.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

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.