Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 147,683 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 81.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,384 shares of the company’s stock after selling 147,683 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Clorox were worth $5,439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its holdings in Clorox by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of CLX opened at $167.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.32.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on CLX. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

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.