The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 7.9% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 426,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,856,000 after acquiring an additional 31,418 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 7.2% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 16,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares in the last quarter. CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,337,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,300,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,022,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $122.78 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $125.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The stock has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $117.35 and a 52-week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 74.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on Clorox and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Three equities research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.36.

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.