30,325 The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Acquired by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lifted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 75,295 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,325 shares during the quarter. M&G PLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $6,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $958,640,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Clorox during the second quarter worth $179,780,000. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 6.3% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,737,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,787,000 after purchasing an additional 102,732 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Clorox by 20.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,418,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,969,000 after purchasing an additional 237,301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the second quarter worth $123,154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $106.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.59. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $79.12 and a fifty-two week high of $128.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 32.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $87.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was up 33.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 28th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. Wall Street Zen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Clorox from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 3rd. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $93.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Pierre Breber bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $100.06 per share, with a total value of $400,240.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 22,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,201,320. This trade represents a 22.22% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.