Confluence Investment Management LLC Has $139.74 Million Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 860,389 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,846 shares during the quarter. Clorox accounts for approximately 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned 0.70% of Clorox worth $139,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.9% during 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. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in Clorox by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 17,827 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Clorox by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 135,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,840,000 after acquiring an additional 12,776 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in Clorox by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 29,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 12.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE CLX traded down $0.57 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $161.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 131,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,227,744. The company has a market capitalization of $20.03 billion, a PE ratio of 56.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.57.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. Clorox had a return on equity of 316.08% and a net margin of 4.78%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Clorox from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $155.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $155.38.

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.