Certuity LLC Takes $442,000 Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LWM Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 21,575 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,076,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $819,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 36.9% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 18,967 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,705,000 after acquiring an additional 5,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Clorox by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CLX shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They issued a “sell” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.63.

Clorox Stock Performance

NYSE:CLX opened at $147.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.62, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business’s fifty day moving average is $149.26 and its 200 day moving average is $143.12. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $114.68 and a 52-week high of $178.21.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.51 EPS. Research analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 761.92%.

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.