KBC Group NV Trims Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 79.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 74,508 shares of the company's stock after selling 296,193 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.06% of Clorox worth $12,101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in Clorox by 36.7% during the 4th quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 15,177 shares of the company's stock worth $2,465,000 after buying an additional 4,074 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,178 shares of the company's stock valued at $679,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 1.7 %

CLX stock traded up $2.75 during trading on Thursday, reaching $160.56. The stock had a trading volume of 443,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,851. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The company has a market capitalization of $19.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $163.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.01.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. Clorox's revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox's payout ratio is 170.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on CLX shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $156.07.

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.