Nuance Investments LLC Sells 516,882 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 59.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 359,112 shares of the company’s stock after selling 516,882 shares during the quarter. Clorox accounts for 2.4% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $58,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,518,517,000 after purchasing an additional 124,428 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Clorox by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,947,000 after buying an additional 245,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,713,000 after acquiring an additional 33,970 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Clorox by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,334,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,370,000 after acquiring an additional 37,967 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,816,000 after acquiring an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $141.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $152.23 and its 200 day moving average is $159.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.62.

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.