Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 1,427 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 12.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,857 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Clorox were worth $2,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 139.8% in the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. First Foundation Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen began coverage on Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.14.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE CLX opened at $160.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. 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 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is 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.