BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Has $3.38 Million Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp reduced its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 20,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,050 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 46,877.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,095,000 after buying an additional 4,490,421 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Clorox by 2.2% in the third 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. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Clorox by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,200,000 after purchasing an additional 120,716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 802,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,483,000 after purchasing an additional 85,529 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE CLX opened at $167.08 on Wednesday. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.35. The stock has a market cap of $20.68 billion, a PE ratio of 58.22, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CLX shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen raised 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 research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.