Hancock Whitney Corp Decreases Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 21.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,270 shares of the company’s stock after selling 625 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in Clorox by 0.8% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 109,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,913,000 after acquiring an additional 826 shares during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in Clorox by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 12,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 5.3% during the second quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 6,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Clorox by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 8,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,598,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares in 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 recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $148.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Argus upgraded Clorox to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.33.

Clorox Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $164.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 85.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $169.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $143.76.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.