Essential Planning LLC. Makes New Investment in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 3,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $515,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,306,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 395,445 shares of the company's stock worth $64,224,000 after purchasing an additional 10,585 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in Clorox by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,042 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Clorox by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.62.

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Clorox Stock Performance

Clorox stock traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $148.54. 958,543 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,216,261. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $154.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $160.23.

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 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 period last year, the firm posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

About Clorox

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.