The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,700 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Clorox were worth $4,190,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after acquiring an additional 48,632 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1,715.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $199,411,000 after acquiring an additional 1,380,724 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $144,844,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Clorox by 14.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,200,000 after buying an additional 120,716 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $128,382,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. TD Cowen started coverage on Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.50.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $166.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $167.75. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $146.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.32. The firm has a market cap of $20.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 86.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.