Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 684 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,676 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $7,598,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CLX. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 678 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha grew its stake in Clorox by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Clorox by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective for the company. Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.50.

Clorox Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of CLX opened at $166.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The firm has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.15, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The business’s fifty day moving average is $146.16 and its 200-day moving average is $143.38.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 EPS 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 $1.22 dividend. 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 2.94%. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 252.85%.

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.