Van ECK Associates Corp Boosts Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,492,717 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,510 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 1.20% of Clorox worth $237,372,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Foundation Advisors purchased a new position in Clorox during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Clorox by 139.8% during the second quarter. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its position in Clorox by 99.1% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in Clorox during the second quarter worth about $31,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. 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. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $122.00 target price on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Clorox Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE CLX traded up $4.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $163.11. 2,296,113 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,243,288. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $121.76 and a 1-year high of $169.09. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of 56.83, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results 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. The firm 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 292.08%. Clorox’s revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

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.