The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Raised by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 31.9% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,746 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in Clorox during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Clorox

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

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock opened at $162.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $143.69. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $169.09. The stock has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 252.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CLX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.50.

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.