The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Acquired by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 158.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 62,003 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 38,043 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $10,070,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,641,000 after purchasing an additional 9,720 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 46,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,544,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 2,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Down 2.2%

Clorox stock opened at $134.79 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.60 billion, a PE ratio of 36.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $127.60 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $154.03. 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 posted 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 business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.74 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.61%.

Insider Activity

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, for a total transaction of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $546,280. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.23.

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.