B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG Trims Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG lessened its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 69.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,936 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,755 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG's holdings in Clorox were worth $477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $363,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 12.6% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $812,000. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in Clorox by 50.7% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 4,164 shares of the company's stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Clorox by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,016 shares of the company's stock valued at $817,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $159.00.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock traded down $0.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $139.34. 225,485 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,288,441. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.13, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.