New York State Common Retirement Fund Has $14.75 Million Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,914 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Clorox were worth $14,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. abrdn plc raised its position in Clorox by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 198,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,268,000 after purchasing an additional 33,135 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 481,725 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,605,000. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $2,940,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Clorox by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,362,000 after acquiring an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Up 1.7 %

Clorox stock opened at $148.92 on Tuesday. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 236.38, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.95.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 761.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $162.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $148.63.

Clorox 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.