Essex Financial Services Inc. Increases Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,327 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 5.6% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 191,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,266,000 after purchasing an additional 10,149 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 43.4% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,865 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 8.3% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 63,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Clorox by 1.8% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 723,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,932,000 after buying an additional 13,038 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX stock opened at $150.77 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $159.93 and a 200-day moving average of $159.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CLX has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $158.21.

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.