Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 36,742 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 145.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,064 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,742 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.05% of Clorox worth $10,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Clorox by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 565,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,893,000 after acquiring an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 119.6% in the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the fourth quarter worth about $1,566,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 18.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of Clorox stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $134.79 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $16.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.03. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $127.60 and a 52-week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is 87.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on CLX shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $151.23.

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.