Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 53,402 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 39.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 188,627 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 53,402 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.15% of Clorox worth $30,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,041,000. Amundi boosted its stake in Clorox by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Clorox by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,390,000 after buying an additional 265,455 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Clorox by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,947,000 after buying an additional 245,525 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $37,935,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock opened at $143.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 39.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $150.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.40.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.00.

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.