KBC Group NV Cuts Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

KBC Group NV cut its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 37.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,701 shares of the company's stock after selling 219,216 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.30% of Clorox worth $60,390,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 72,053 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,032,000 after purchasing an additional 34,864 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 141,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,705,000 after purchasing an additional 18,687 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 257.5% in the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,228 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 8,087 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 267,632 shares of the company's stock worth $36,524,000 after acquiring an additional 66,149 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.00.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3 %

CLX stock traded up $0.53 on Thursday, hitting $165.89. 328,858 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,239,819. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $169.09. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $162.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.41.

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, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

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.