GWN Securities Inc. Invests $1.71 Million in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

GWN Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 10,753 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,712,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Clorox by 2.0% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 307,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,119,000 after buying an additional 6,008 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Clorox by 4.5% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Clorox by 1.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 17,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Clorox by 4.2% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 13,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,246,000 after buying an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox in the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $147.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The company has a market cap of $18.15 billion, a PE ratio of 40.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $154.20 and a 200 day moving average of $160.20. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business earned $2.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 133.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.62.

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.