American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 11,606 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 76,400 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,606 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.06% of Clorox worth $12,408,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its stake in Clorox by 512.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company's stock worth $88,315,000 after buying an additional 453,624 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 42.6% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Clorox by 302.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,390,000 after purchasing an additional 265,455 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Clorox by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,947,000 after purchasing an additional 245,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,935,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.00.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX traded down $4.93 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,292,858 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,285,183. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.71 billion, a PE ratio of 39.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

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.