Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 147,683 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 81.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,384 shares of the company's stock after selling 147,683 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Clorox were worth $5,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 267,632 shares of the company's stock worth $36,524,000 after purchasing an additional 66,149 shares in the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 2nd quarter valued at about $876,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 140.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 74,032 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,335,000 after buying an additional 43,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,277 shares of the company's stock worth $39,121,000 after buying an additional 22,676 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Clorox Trading Up 0.0 %

Clorox stock traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $167.17. 465,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,238,729. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $163.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $149.39. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.00.

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.