Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 64,531 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,765 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Clorox were worth $10,480,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Clorox during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $157.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.40 and a 200 day moving average of $160.13. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The firm has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 42.90, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. Clorox’s payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $158.21.

Clorox Company 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.