Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 4,239 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,474 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,239 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Clorox by 277.9% in the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares during the period. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Clorox by 6.5% during the second quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 4,493 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Clorox by 0.6% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 44,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Clorox by 10.3% in the second quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Clorox by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $145.93. The company had a trading volume of 1,183,290 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,262,685. The firm has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.61, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $136.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.43. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $158.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Clorox’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 13th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 252.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.94.

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.