Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Increases Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Clorox were worth $689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,277,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,339,150,000 after buying an additional 48,632 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 150.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,035,000 after purchasing an additional 960,094 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Clorox by 1,715.5% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,461,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $199,411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380,724 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Clorox by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $131,200,000 after purchasing an additional 120,716 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 26.5% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 882,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,099,000 after buying an additional 184,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total transaction of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CLX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Clorox from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.14.

Clorox Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:CLX opened at $156.69 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $114.68 and a 12 month high of $169.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.41.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.28. Clorox had a return on equity of 281.12% and a net margin of 3.95%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.97 billion. Equities analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.64 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 252.85%.

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.