SlateStone Wealth LLC Raises Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,190 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Clorox by 43.4% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,865,000 after acquiring an additional 9,037 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Clorox by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 63,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Clorox by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,932,000 after purchasing an additional 13,038 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 59,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,736,000 after buying an additional 12,428 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth $204,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.3 %

Clorox stock opened at $147.32 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $154.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $160.23. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research 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 will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $159.62.

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.