Cerity Partners LLC Raises Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 13.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,454 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,232 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $8,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 46,877.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Clorox by 2.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,372,000 after acquiring an additional 31,510 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,200,000 after acquiring an additional 120,716 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 802,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,483,000 after acquiring an additional 85,529 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:CLX opened at $167.34 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.88.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on CLX. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

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.