Geode Capital Management LLC Has $501.93 Million Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,098,302 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 69,969 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.50% of Clorox worth $501,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CLX. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at $363,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,375 shares of the company's stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 89,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,594,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth about $812,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in Clorox by 50.7% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 4,164 shares of the company's stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock traded up $3.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $139.84. 1,888,622 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,292,542. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.56. The company has a market cap of $17.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.61. 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 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 issued 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $2.16 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors 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 yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's payout ratio is presently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on CLX. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $161.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.00.

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.