Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 723,906 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,038 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.58% of Clorox worth $117,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 46,877.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,095,000 after buying an additional 4,490,421 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,372,000 after acquiring an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Clorox by 11.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 802,237 shares of the company's stock worth $109,483,000 after purchasing an additional 85,529 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on CLX. TD Cowen raised shares of Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $155.00.

Insider Activity at Clorox

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

Clorox Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of CLX stock traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $167.34. The stock had a trading volume of 944,682 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,576. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.71 billion, a PE ratio of 58.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $162.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.35.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. Clorox's revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox's payout ratio is 170.03%.

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.