Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Buys 15,344 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 41.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 52,340 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,344 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $7,463,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Tyler Stone Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Clorox by 64.5% in the third quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its position in Clorox by 57.1% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 458.3% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 268 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Clorox from $159.00 to $158.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $155.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $136.00 to $132.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $146.43.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $138.23 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $114.68 and a fifty-two week high of $176.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $148.45 and a 200 day moving average of $143.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 9.73, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.62, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.44.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.38. Clorox had a net margin of 3.33% and a return on equity of 302.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 248.71%.

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.