Marshall Wace LLP Takes Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,672,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.6% during the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 28,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,883,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Clorox by 75.6% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 4,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 2,055 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 134.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 109,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,913,000 after buying an additional 826 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.2% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 12,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $162.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 84.40, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $114.68 and a 1-year high of $169.09. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.52 and its 200-day moving average is $144.04.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 252.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.33.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Clorox 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.