Amundi Raises Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Amundi lifted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 42.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 308,234 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Clorox were worth $165,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. QRG Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox during the third quarter worth $225,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 6.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,641,000 after buying an additional 9,720 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth $449,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Houlihan Financial Resource Group Ltd. acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock opened at $151.11 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $155.65 and a 200-day moving average of $160.47. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson cut their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

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.