Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Sells 21,173 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 312,666 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,173 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.25% of Clorox worth $50,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $259,041,000. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP raised its position in Clorox by 512.7% in the third quarter. Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP now owns 542,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $88,315,000 after purchasing an additional 453,624 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its holdings in Clorox by 42.6% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,816,000 after buying an additional 308,234 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Clorox by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 353,367 shares of the company's stock worth $57,390,000 after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.1% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $147.28. 1,201,840 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,278,756. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.00. The company has a market capitalization of $18.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94.

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Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS 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 last year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 yield of 3.31%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 133.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 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 shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $159.50.

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.