Signaturefd LLC Boosts Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 305.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,998 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,053 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $2,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP lifted its stake in Clorox by 512.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,315,000 after buying an additional 453,624 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 302.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,947,000 after acquiring an additional 245,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,935,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of CLX stock opened at $148.54 on Tuesday. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The firm has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.62.

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.