Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New $3.47 Million Investment in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 21,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,468,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Clorox by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company's stock worth $1,332,947,000 after buying an additional 245,525 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Clorox by 46,877.8% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $733,095,000 after acquiring an additional 4,490,421 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company's stock worth $491,713,000 after acquiring an additional 33,970 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,334,826 shares of the company's stock worth $380,370,000 after purchasing an additional 37,967 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,372,000 after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Clorox from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $157.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Clorox from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, January 5th. Four 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $156.54.

Clorox Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $160.31. The company had a trading volume of 937,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 960,748. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.42. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $164.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.62. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Clorox's payout ratio is 170.03%.

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.