Cibc World Markets Corp Lowers Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Cibc World Markets Corp lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 56.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,260 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,685,046 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,041,661,000 after acquiring an additional 185,012 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,624,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,648,000 after acquiring an additional 71,240 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,931,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,515,000 after acquiring an additional 21,058 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,860,672 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,433,000 after acquiring an additional 103,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,800,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,675,000 after acquiring an additional 119,164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.98% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $155.24 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $156.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.05. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $124.58 and a 1 year high of $178.21. The company has a market capitalization of $19.22 billion, a PE ratio of 130.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.38, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.48. Clorox had a net margin of 2.02% and a return on equity of 163.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 8th. This is an increase from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.18. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 403.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on CLX shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $176.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. Atlantic Securities upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kevin B. Jacobsen sold 3,346 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.82, for a total transaction of $538,103.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,734,883.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.