Russell Investments Group Ltd. Boosts Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 233,031 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,159 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.19% of Clorox worth $37,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Clorox in the 4th quarter worth approximately $259,041,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its position in Clorox by 187.9% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company's stock worth $113,508,000 after buying an additional 456,114 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Clorox by 42.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company's stock worth $165,816,000 after buying an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Clorox by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company's stock worth $57,390,000 after buying an additional 265,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $37,935,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Clorox stock traded up $0.45 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $141.35. 1,249,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,298,188. The firm has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 38.62, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.39 and its 200 day moving average is $157.21. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted 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 period last year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $173.00 to $151.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Clorox from $139.00 to $134.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, DA Davidson cut 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.75.

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.