First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 1,563 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 42.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,236 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CLX. Insight Folios Inc boosted its holdings in Clorox by 3.0% during the third quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its position in Clorox by 0.4% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 2.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 2.2% in the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its position in Clorox by 17.2% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.29.

Clorox Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $163.12 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $121.76 and a twelve month high of $169.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company’s fifty day moving average is $161.48 and its 200-day moving average is $146.14. The stock has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.41.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 292.08%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.04%.

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.