First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 430,910 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,513 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.35% of Clorox worth $69,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Clorox by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 155,886 shares of the company's stock worth $25,317,000 after acquiring an additional 9,141 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 386,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,800,000 after purchasing an additional 51,971 shares in the last quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Clorox by 549.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,144,000 after buying an additional 459,203 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Three 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $153.83.

Clorox Price Performance

NYSE CLX traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $137.50. 1,221,111 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,303,239. 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 is $145.80 and its 200-day moving average is $155.83. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $16.94 billion, a PE ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Clorox's payout ratio is 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.