Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,916 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $101,609,000. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its position in Clorox by 16,986.8% during the second quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 551,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,139,000 after acquiring an additional 548,165 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 75.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,130,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,161,000 after purchasing an additional 487,974 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 17,658.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,078,000 after purchasing an additional 481,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,467,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,319,000 after purchasing an additional 415,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock opened at $140.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $17.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 223.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.43. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $178.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $150.92 and its 200-day moving average is $141.60.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 earnings per share. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 761.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $165.00 price objective (down previously from $170.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

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.