Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 302.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 353,367 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 265,455 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $57,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its stake in Clorox by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CLX. Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $157.46.

Clorox Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $158.43 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.16. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The company has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 55.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.03%.

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.