Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 12,950 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,316 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,950 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.06% of Clorox worth $13,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in Clorox by 163.8% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Asset Planning Inc purchased a new position in shares of Clorox during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Clorox in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $154.25.

Clorox Stock Down 0.3 %

Clorox stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.00. The stock had a trading volume of 188,565 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,087. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $147.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 37.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.