The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 103,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,914 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.08% of Clorox worth $14,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in Clorox by 75.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,130,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,161,000 after purchasing an additional 487,974 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 17,658.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 484,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,078,000 after acquiring an additional 481,725 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Clorox by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,467,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,319,000 after purchasing an additional 415,999 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Clorox by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,415,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,517,000 after purchasing an additional 357,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 25.7% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,325,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $173,758,000 after purchasing an additional 271,133 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX opened at $148.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.37, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.89. The Clorox Company has a one year low of $114.68 and a one year high of $178.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 236.38, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $149.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $142.95.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 1st. The company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $1.08. Clorox had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 319.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Clorox’s payout ratio is currently 761.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Clorox from $155.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Clorox in a research note on Friday, March 1st. They set a “sell” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Clorox from an “underperform” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $136.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and thirteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.63.

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.