Viewpoint Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 10.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Clorox by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,339,150,000 after purchasing an additional 48,632 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC boosted 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 valued at $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Clorox by 1,715.5% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380,724 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 14.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,200,000 after purchasing an additional 120,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 26.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 882,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,099,000 after purchasing an additional 184,847 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded down $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $156.69. The stock had a trading volume of 1,040,134 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,223,216. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $169.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The firm has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.19, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.51 and a 200-day moving average of $145.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. Equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 252.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.14.

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.