The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stake Trimmed by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC cut its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 45.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 875,994 shares of the company’s stock after selling 721,680 shares during the period. Clorox comprises 4.8% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $142,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake 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. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of CLX opened at $168.16 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $169.21. The company has a market cap of $20.81 billion, a PE ratio of 58.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a fifty day moving average of $162.56 and a 200 day moving average of $147.94.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.04%.

About Clorox

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.