Aviance Capital Partners LLC Purchases 100 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,180 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 46,877.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the period. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 512.7% in the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,315,000 after purchasing an additional 453,624 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,390,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,332,947,000 after purchasing an additional 245,525 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,935,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $151.11 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $155.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.34. 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 $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

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.