Vinva Investment Management Ltd Lowers Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 53.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,675 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,110 shares during the quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Clorox were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 12.6% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,375 shares of the company’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 2.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 49,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,059,000 after buying an additional 1,247 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter worth about $213,000. Townsquare Capital LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at about $363,000. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 776,232 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,456,000 after acquiring an additional 168,111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.53% of the company’s stock.

Clorox Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CLX opened at $167.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.25, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. The Clorox Company has a 52 week low of $127.60 and a 52 week high of $171.35.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s payout ratio is 170.03%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CLX. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 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. Barclays increased their target price on Clorox from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $155.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.