First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Acquires 1,563 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 42.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,236 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Clorox by 139.8% during the 2nd quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. First Foundation Advisors acquired a new position in Clorox in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in Clorox by 99.1% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “sell” rating and a $122.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $153.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.29.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $163.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.48 and a 200-day moving average of $146.14. The company has a market cap of $20.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.63. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $121.76 and a one year high of $169.09.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 292.08%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 170.04%.

Clorox Company 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.