Wesbanco Bank Inc. Sells 233 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. reduced its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 5.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,179 shares of the company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 1,525.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 65,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,046,000 after purchasing an additional 61,576 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 72,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,032,000 after buying an additional 34,864 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 141,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,705,000 after acquiring an additional 18,687 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Clorox by 257.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 8,087 shares during the period. Finally, Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the first quarter worth about $1,025,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.14.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $163.43 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $158.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.98. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $169.09. The company has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 84.68, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 252.85%.

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.