Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 70 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 70 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CLX. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 5.1% during the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.50.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $163.33 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $169.09. The company has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 84.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.78.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its 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. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 252.85%.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.