Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 5,788 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $940,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Clorox by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 8.3% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 63,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Clorox by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,932,000 after purchasing an additional 13,038 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 59,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,736,000 after purchasing an additional 12,428 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CLX. Barclays lifted their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $145.46 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.87. 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 $17.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.74, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

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.