The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Lessened by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 325,556 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,873 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $46,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,341,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,010,622,000 after buying an additional 44,344 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Clorox by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 9,463,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,497,427,000 after purchasing an additional 195,348 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,725,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,349,000 after purchasing an additional 100,920 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,415,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,517,000 after purchasing an additional 357,964 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Clorox by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,184,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,356,000 after purchasing an additional 47,879 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $143.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a PE ratio of 227.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $149.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.79.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 761.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.