Virtu Financial LLC Buys Shares of 4,383 The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $714,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Clorox by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 267,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,524,000 after purchasing an additional 66,149 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 8.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 287,277 shares of the company's stock worth $39,121,000 after acquiring an additional 22,676 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 5.6% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company's stock worth $31,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Clorox by 371.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 96,969 shares of the company's stock worth $13,233,000 after acquiring an additional 76,397 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $164.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 753,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,229,704. The firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $163.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $151.70. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.04%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CLX has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.