Cetera Investment Advisers Trims Stock Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 56,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,454 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Clorox were worth $9,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Clorox by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Clorox by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 6,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,116,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $134.79 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $127.60 and a one year high of $171.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $142.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.03.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is presently 87.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,280. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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.