Bell Investment Advisors Inc Sells 234 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Bell Investment Advisors Inc cut its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 35.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 433 shares of the company’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Clorox were worth $71,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 46,877.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 4,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,095,000 after purchasing an additional 4,490,421 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in Clorox by 150.6% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,597,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,035,000 after acquiring an additional 960,094 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Clorox by 2.2% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,492,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,372,000 after acquiring an additional 31,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Clorox by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 961,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $131,200,000 after acquiring an additional 120,716 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 802,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,483,000 after purchasing an additional 85,529 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $148.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $155.00.

Clorox Price Performance

Clorox stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $167.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 45,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,237,236. The stock has a market cap of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 58.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $162.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $148.88.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 4.78% and a return on equity of 316.08%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Clorox Company will post 6.85 EPS for the current year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In other Clorox news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.