Raymond James & Associates Sells 124,821 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Raymond James & Associates lessened its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 46.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 142,811 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124,821 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.11% of Clorox worth $23,265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.0% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $476,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of Clorox by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Clorox by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at $2,229,719.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $158.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.34, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. 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 Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $169.09. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.97 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen started coverage on Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Clorox from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.14.

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.