Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Raises Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,091 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Clorox were worth $1,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 7.2% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 20,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Comerica Bank raised its position in Clorox by 10.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 39,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,031,000 after acquiring an additional 3,740 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at $6,523,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Clorox by 3.8% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 17,923 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,744,000 after acquiring an additional 653 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Clorox by 140.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 74,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,335,000 after purchasing an additional 43,265 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $167.17 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $163.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.39. The company has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on CLX. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.00.

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.