The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lowered its holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 7.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 70,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,303 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Clorox were worth $11,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CLX. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,659,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Clorox in the third quarter valued at $73,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Clorox by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 29,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,865,000 after purchasing an additional 9,037 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Clorox during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Clorox in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,579,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Clorox Trading Up 0.1 %

CLX opened at $169.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 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. The business’s 50 day moving average is $162.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08.

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

Clorox Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio is currently 170.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on CLX shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Clorox to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Clorox from $153.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on Clorox from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $155.00.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other news, EVP Angela C. Hilt sold 1,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.52, for a total value of $286,846.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,719.92. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.