Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 307,649 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,008 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Clorox worth $50,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Insight Folios Inc raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 2,195 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 0.4% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 19,050 shares of the company's stock worth $2,600,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.0% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,634 shares of the company's stock worth $496,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. SPC Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the company's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Clorox by 17.2% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 510 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:CLX traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.64. 1,361,795 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,242,377. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $127.60 and a 12-month high of $169.09. The firm's fifty day moving average is $162.45 and its 200-day moving average is $147.47.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The firm 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 firm earned $0.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Clorox's payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 13,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on CLX shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $155.00.

Clorox 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.