National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

National Bank of Canada FI trimmed its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 63.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,695 shares of the company's stock after selling 102,521 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in Clorox were worth $9,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,507,152 shares of the company's stock worth $2,518,517,000 after buying an additional 124,428 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Clorox by 3.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,947,000 after acquiring an additional 245,525 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $491,713,000 after purchasing an additional 33,970 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $259,041,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $139.34. 225,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,288,441. The company's fifty day moving average price is $147.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.00.

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.