Mizuho Securities USA LLC Has $733.10 Million Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 46,877.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,500,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares during the period. Clorox makes up about 1.9% of Mizuho Securities USA LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Mizuho Securities USA LLC owned approximately 3.64% of Clorox worth $733,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in Clorox in the first quarter worth $31,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Clorox by 24.3% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 181,772 shares of the company's stock worth $27,711,000 after purchasing an additional 35,477 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Clorox by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company's stock worth $2,339,150,000 after purchasing an additional 48,632 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 26.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 882,526 shares of the company's stock worth $135,099,000 after purchasing an additional 184,847 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Clorox by 2.1% in the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 8,588 shares of the company's stock worth $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock traded up $1.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $167.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,361,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,377. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50 day moving average of $162.45 and a 200 day moving average of $147.47. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $169.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 170.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned 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 an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $155.00.

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.