The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 76,400 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,606 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $12,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Asset Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Up 0.4 %

CLX stock opened at $147.79 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.74.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.50.

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.