The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 5.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 50,485 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,687 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Clorox were worth $8,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Clorox by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 141,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,705,000 after purchasing an additional 18,687 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Clorox by 257.5% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 8,087 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Clorox by 32.8% during 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 during the period. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $876,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction 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 $2,229,719.92. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Clorox Stock Performance

CLX stock opened at $167.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $162.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.34. The company has a market capitalization of $20.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month 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 the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. Clorox’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

About Clorox

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.