Man Group plc Purchases 346,449 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Man Group plc boosted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 154.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 570,503 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned about 0.46% of Clorox worth $92,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 5,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,272 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its stake in Clorox by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 5,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $841,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter valued at $1,897,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 259.4% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 16,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,664,000 after buying an additional 11,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $11,044,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of CLX opened at $136.46 on Wednesday. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.82 billion, a PE ratio of 37.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.78.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. Clorox’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 87.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $151.23.

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.