Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 44.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 279,743 shares of the company’s stock after selling 226,229 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.23% of Clorox worth $38,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Core Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Clorox Stock Down 0.8 %

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

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 13th. This is a boost from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Clorox from $122.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.50.

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.