The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) is Vest Financial LLC's 10th Largest Position

Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 362,047 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,306 shares during the quarter. Clorox makes up about 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.29% of Clorox worth $58,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after buying an additional 48,632 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 150.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,035,000 after purchasing an additional 960,094 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1,715.5% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $199,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,724 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 14.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company's stock worth $131,200,000 after purchasing an additional 120,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 26.5% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 $2,229,719.92. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas raised Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has issued 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 $150.14.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX stock traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $161.96. The stock had a trading volume of 682,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,643. The company has a market cap of $20.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 83.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $114.68 and a 12-month high of $169.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.14.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 281.12%. The company had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.97 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 252.85%.

Clorox Company 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.