American Trust Takes Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

American Trust acquired a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 139.8% in the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CLX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted 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. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.13.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $164.68 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.29. The firm has a market cap of $20.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The company 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

About Clorox

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.