Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $591,000 in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI acquired a new position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $591,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CLX. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $101,000. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Clorox by 170.8% during the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 1,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 931 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at $128,382,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in Clorox by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 4,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $662,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balentine LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $163.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $148.06 and a 200-day moving average of $143.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 84.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04.

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

Clorox Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a boost from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 252.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on CLX. Barclays raised their target price on Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Clorox to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.50.

About Clorox

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.