Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.52 Billion Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,507,152 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 124,428 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Clorox worth $2,518,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP increased its position in Clorox by 512.7% during the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,315,000 after buying an additional 453,624 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after acquiring an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Clorox by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,390,000 after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,947,000 after purchasing an additional 245,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $37,935,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Down 1.5 %

CLX stock opened at $141.80 on Wednesday. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The company has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a PE ratio of 38.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share 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 firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

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.