The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Holdings Increased by Prudential PLC

Prudential PLC raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,404 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,573 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $5,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 97.7% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Certuity LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth about $427,000. Kerusso Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,438,000. Finally, Loudon Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 7.6% during the second quarter. Loudon Investment Management LLC now owns 5,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.50.

Clorox Stock Up 1.1 %

Clorox stock opened at $166.96 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.40. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $114.68 and a 1-year high of $167.75. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. This is a boost from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.