Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,468 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Clorox were worth $8,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $167.17 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.47. The company has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a PE ratio of 58.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.00.

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.