Shell Asset Management Co. Trims Stock Position in The Clorox Company $CLX

Shell Asset Management Co. trimmed its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 38.7% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,223 shares during the quarter. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Clorox by 9.0% during the second quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 335,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,285,000 after purchasing an additional 27,639 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,568,000. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $328,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 64.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 25,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after buying an additional 10,065 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,297,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,922,000 after buying an additional 136,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Clorox from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research raised Clorox from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $118.07.

Clorox Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $125.86 on Monday. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $96.66 and a 1 year high of $159.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $107.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.03, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $15.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.59.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.04). Clorox had a net margin of 11.17% and a return on equity of 383.01%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a $1.24 dividend. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $104.13 per share, for a total transaction of $416,520.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,690. This trade represents a 44.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Profile

The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer and professional products designed to help people care for their homes and live healthy, sustainable lives. Its portfolio spans cleaning and household products, food and beverages, water filtration systems and cat litter, serving both retail and institutional customers. The company’s flagship bleach and disinfecting products are well known in the United States and many international markets, where they help prevent the spread of germs in homes, hospitals, schools and businesses.

Clorox’s diverse brand lineup includes liquid bleach and surface cleaners, eco-friendly cleaning tools, food preservation and preparation items, charcoal grills and briquettes, specialty foods and beverages, pet care products and personal care lines.