The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Holdings Lowered by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 3.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,182,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,947,000 after purchasing an additional 245,525 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,028,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $491,713,000 after purchasing an additional 33,970 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 1.7% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,334,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,370,000 after purchasing an additional 37,967 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Clorox by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,032,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,816,000 after purchasing an additional 308,234 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 27.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 776,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,456,000 after purchasing an additional 168,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of CLX opened at $144.88 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.77. The stock has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.62.

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.