GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 73.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,115 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 300.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price target on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Five 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.38.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $162.89 on Monday. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 56.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 170.03%.

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.