Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 100.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 56,440 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 28,245 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Clorox were worth $8,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Clorox by 522.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 35,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,052,000 after purchasing an additional 29,740 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,840 shares of the company’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 198,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,268,000 after acquiring an additional 33,135 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 4,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Clorox from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Clorox in a report on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.63.

Clorox Price Performance

CLX opened at $147.79 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $114.68 and a 1 year high of $178.21. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.59, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.43.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. The business had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 319.41% and a net margin of 1.09%. Clorox’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 761.90%.

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.