233,713 The Clorox Company $CLX Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 75.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 74,778 shares of the company’s stock after selling 233,713 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $6,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Clorox during the second quarter valued at about $958,640,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the second quarter valued at about $179,780,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Clorox by 20.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,418,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $146,969,000 after purchasing an additional 237,301 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.3% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,737,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,787,000 after purchasing an additional 102,732 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.3% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,280,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,670,000 after purchasing an additional 29,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $100.06 per share, for a total transaction of $400,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 22,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,201,320. This trade represents a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $99.80. The company had a trading volume of 2,387,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,187. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $79.12 and a 12 month high of $128.90. The firm has a market cap of $12.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $99.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 15.80, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.38.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.48. Clorox had a return on equity of 601.88% and a net margin of 9.41%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 33.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 28th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 28th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is 89.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on CLX. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Clorox from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $97.00 to $90.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research cut Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $93.79.

About Clorox

The Clorox Company, founded in 1913 and headquartered in Oakland, California, is a consumer and professional products company. It began with household bleach and has expanded into a portfolio of brands serving cleaning, household, personal care, food, and professional markets.

Its brands include Clorox disinfecting and cleaning products, Pine-Sol cleaners, Liquid-Plumr drain care, Kingsford charcoal, Fresh Step and Scoop Away cat litter, Hidden Valley dressings and dips, Brita water filtration products, and Burt’s Bees personal care items.