Hartford Financial Management Inc. Buys 93 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 57.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 256 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $37,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tyler Stone Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, American National Bank raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. American National Bank now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Down 1.2 %

Clorox stock traded down $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.11. 154,209 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,210,894. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $151.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $141.29. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $114.68 and a 52 week high of $178.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.76 billion, a PE ratio of 229.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 761.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $120.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.13.

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.