The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,430 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CLX. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3,665.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 102,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,647,000 after purchasing an additional 99,990 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 172,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,600,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $220,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 19,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 171,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,404,000 after acquiring an additional 4,334 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Clorox in a research note on Monday, June 24th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Clorox from $162.00 to $153.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.19.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX opened at $158.31 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.55. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $114.68 and a 1-year high of $159.05.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 382.58% and a net margin of 3.95%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This is a boost from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 252.85%.

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.