The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Holdings Increased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 17.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,274 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Clorox in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Clorox by 99.1% in the second 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. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at $49,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Clorox from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.54.

Clorox Stock Down 1.1 %

CLX stock opened at $159.12 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.70 billion, a PE ratio of 55.44, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Clorox 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.