The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Holdings Trimmed by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 38.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,921 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,473 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Clorox by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,320 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 276.6% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 9,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,295,000 after purchasing an additional 6,844 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,073,000 after buying an additional 5,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 81.1% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after buying an additional 10,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $141.68. The company had a trading volume of 117,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,714. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $178.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $17.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 225.37, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.52.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 761.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $165.00 target price (down from $170.00) on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $149.13.

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.