The Clorox Company $CLX Stock: Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Lowers Stake

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. decreased its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 28.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,822 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CLX. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Avalon Trust Co bought a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Markowski Investments bought a new position in Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Barrett & Company Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 86.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 372 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:CLX opened at $99.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.59. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $79.12 and a twelve month high of $128.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.91. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.67.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 9.41% and a return on equity of 608.30%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 5.75 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 89.93%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre Breber bought 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $100.06 per share, for a total transaction of $400,240.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,201,320. The trade was a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the subject of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Evercore upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $99.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, UBS Group set a $88.00 price target on Clorox in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $93.79.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company is a consumer products company founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California. It makes and markets products for household cleaning, food, water filtration, personal care and pet care.

Its portfolio includes Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Glad trash bags and food-storage products, Kingsford charcoal, Brita water filters, Hidden Valley dressings and sauces, Burt’s Bees personal-care products, and Fresh Step cat litter. The company also sells products under brands such as Pine-Sol and Liquid-Plumr.

Clorox serves consumers primarily in the United States and also sells products in international markets.