Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Has $327,000 Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,296 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Clorox were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Clorox by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 34,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,969,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares during the last quarter. MeadowBrook Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. bought a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, River Global Investors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $248,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $141.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $170.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $147.74 and a 200-day moving average of $143.65. The company has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.44.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 302.49%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.51 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 248.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CLX. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $162.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup lowered their target price on Clorox from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.43.

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.