The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) Stock Position Reduced by Romano Brothers AND Company

Romano Brothers AND Company lowered its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Clorox were worth $2,320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CLX. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Clorox during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Clorox by 300.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 99.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 229 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Clorox during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CLX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Clorox from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $174.00 to $187.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays cut their price objective on Clorox from $139.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Clorox from $140.00 to $139.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Clorox from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.54.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $160.31 on Friday. The Clorox Company has a twelve month low of $127.60 and a twelve month high of $171.37. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $164.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 11.08, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 6.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Clorox’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 170.04%.

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.