HM Payson & Co. Reduces Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

HM Payson & Co. lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,895 shares of the company’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $159.62.

Clorox Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $151.11 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $155.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.47. The company has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

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.