Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 221 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,871 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $207,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Clorox by 2.7% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,481,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in Clorox by 9.2% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in shares of Clorox by 3.1% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,579,000. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $144.88 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a 1 year low of $127.60 and a 1 year high of $171.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.77. The company has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.58, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.45.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.16. Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. 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 3.37%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 133.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Clorox from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $159.62.

Clorox Company 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.