Sentry Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sentry Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $101,609,000. Imprint Wealth LLC raised its position in Clorox by 16,986.8% in the 2nd quarter. Imprint Wealth LLC now owns 551,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,139,000 after purchasing an additional 548,165 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Clorox by 75.9% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,130,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,161,000 after purchasing an additional 487,974 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 17,658.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,078,000 after purchasing an additional 481,725 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Up 0.5 %

CLX stock opened at $143.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.70. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $178.21. The company has a market cap of $17.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 227.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 761.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CLX shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays cut their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.63.

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.