Great Lakes Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,306,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Clorox by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,624 shares of the company's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 396 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in Clorox by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 395,445 shares of the company's stock worth $64,224,000 after buying an additional 10,585 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in Clorox by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,042 shares of the company's stock worth $656,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in Clorox by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,625 shares of the company's stock worth $751,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Finally, Vista Investment Partners II LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $145.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,105,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,471,174. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.08.

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Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. Clorox's payout ratio is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.62.

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.