The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 76.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 250,495 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,631 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.20% of Clorox worth $40,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd 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. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Asset Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on CLX. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.00.

Clorox Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of CLX stock traded up $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $140.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 201,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,288,288. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $147.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (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 prior year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

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.