Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Makes New Investment in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 4,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $591,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 13,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 6.2% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,600,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on CLX shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.50.

Clorox Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:CLX opened at $163.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 84.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.56. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 13th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

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.