Apriem Advisors Sells 199 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Apriem Advisors reduced its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 199 shares during the quarter. Apriem Advisors’ holdings in Clorox were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of CLX. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Clorox by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its position in shares of Clorox by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 6,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,116,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Clorox by 2.7% in the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Clorox by 9.9% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 977 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX stock opened at $153.15 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $157.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $160.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CLX. Barclays raised their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $158.21.

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.