Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Cuts Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 395 shares of the company’s stock after selling 170 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $54,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after buying an additional 48,632 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 150.6% in the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,035,000 after purchasing an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Clorox by 1,715.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,724 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $144,844,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Clorox by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,200,000 after purchasing an additional 120,716 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $162.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $20.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $114.68 and a 1-year high of $169.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $148.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.69.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 252.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CLX. TD Cowen began coverage on Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective for the company. Argus raised shares of Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Friday, September 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.