Centre Asset Management LLC Sells 5,942 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Centre Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,682 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,942 shares during the quarter. Clorox comprises approximately 2.4% of Centre Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Centre Asset Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Clorox worth $10,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Clorox in the third quarter worth approximately $54,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 22,676 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Clorox by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,149 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in Clorox by 60.5% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 23,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 8,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 353,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,228,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX traded up $1.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $162.89. The stock had a trading volume of 671,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 692,770. 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 cap of $20.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.76, a PEG ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $164.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.62.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on CLX. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.38.

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.