Aviva PLC Sells 112,685 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Aviva PLC reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 60.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,593 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,685 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Clorox worth $12,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in Clorox by 53.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 352 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 609.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,230 shares of the company's stock worth $2,481,000 after buying an additional 13,084 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,343,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 12.9% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Clorox by 56.4% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 161,216 shares of the company's stock worth $26,264,000 after acquiring an additional 58,150 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $156.75.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3 %

Clorox stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $141.35. 1,249,590 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,298,188. The company has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $147.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.21. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast 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 paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Clorox Company 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.