UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 992,572 shares of the company's stock after selling 33,795 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.80% of Clorox worth $161,700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Clorox by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 49,468 shares of the company's stock worth $8,059,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $363,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in Clorox by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 776,232 shares of the company's stock worth $126,456,000 after buying an additional 168,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $914,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $155.00.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.17. 465,385 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,220,052. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $163.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $149.39. The stock has a market cap of $20.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.25, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. Clorox's revenue was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox's payout ratio is 170.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.