National Pension Service Sells 15,563 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

National Pension Service trimmed its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 199,713 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,563 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.16% of Clorox worth $32,435,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Group Ltd. purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $231,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 7.0% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,613 shares of the company's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Clorox by 42.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $853,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its stake in Clorox by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 15,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,453,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstone Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock traded down $4.00 on Tuesday, reaching $151.89. 1,275,648 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,380,078. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $156.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $160.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 41.53, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on CLX shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.62.

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.