Confluence Investment Management LLC Cuts Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Confluence Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 860,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,846 shares during the quarter. Clorox accounts for about 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $139,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 300.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Clorox by 99.1% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CLX shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.38.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX stock traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $161.84. The stock had a trading volume of 131,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,744. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $164.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 56.39, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. 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 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.03%.

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.