The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.

W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc. decreased its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the quarter. W.H. Cornerstone Investments Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after purchasing an additional 48,632 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after buying an additional 960,094 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,372,000 after buying an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 14.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,200,000 after acquiring an additional 120,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 882,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,099,000 after acquiring an additional 184,847 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $162.48 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.33. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $125.46 and a 12 month high of $169.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a PE ratio of 56.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.41.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CLX. BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.57.

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.