The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.

Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc. cut its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,625 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Godshalk Welsh Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after purchasing an additional 48,632 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after purchasing an additional 960,094 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 1,715.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,724 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $144,844,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 14.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,200,000 after buying an additional 120,716 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 target price for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.50.

Clorox Stock Performance

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

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.