Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 11.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,449 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,633,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Clorox by 75.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,130,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,161,000 after purchasing an additional 487,974 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 17,658.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,078,000 after buying an additional 481,725 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,467,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,319,000 after buying an additional 415,999 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,415,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,517,000 after acquiring an additional 357,964 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,325,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,758,000 after acquiring an additional 271,133 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of CLX opened at $145.19 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 230.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.43. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $178.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $142.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 761.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $162.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Clorox in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.63.

Clorox 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.