Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Has $1.26 Million Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,735 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $225,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 151,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,641,000 after purchasing an additional 9,720 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $449,000. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 356.1% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 7,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $148.53 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 40.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $155.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 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 prior year, the firm earned $2.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 133.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CLX shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Clorox in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.62.

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.