Great Lakes Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 8,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Clorox by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3 %

CLX stock opened at $147.32 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

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.