The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Position Trimmed by Vista Investment Partners LLC

Vista Investment Partners LLC reduced its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,428 shares of the company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Vista Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $232,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in Clorox by 36.7% in the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 15,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 4,074 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Clorox by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Private Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of Clorox by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Advisors now owns 15,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,598,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $159.12 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $163.66 and its 200-day moving average is $157.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm’s revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CLX. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.54.

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.