The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by DnB Asset Management AS

DnB Asset Management AS trimmed its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,067 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $259,041,000. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 512.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,315,000 after purchasing an additional 453,624 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 42.6% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after buying an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,390,000 after buying an additional 265,455 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Clorox by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,947,000 after acquiring an additional 245,525 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.50.

Clorox Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of CLX opened at $147.28 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.87. The company has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 period last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

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.