Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Purchases 13,745 Shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 86,194 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 13,745 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.07% of Clorox worth $13,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,718 shares of the company's stock valued at $279,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. HCR Wealth Advisors increased its holdings in Clorox by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 6,870 shares of the company's stock worth $1,116,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Clorox by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Clorox by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 7,624 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 153 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on CLX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on Clorox from $134.00 to $129.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Clorox in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Clorox currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Clorox

In related news, Director Pierre R. Breber bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 4,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $135.16. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,101,212 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,313,285. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.52, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60. The business's 50 day moving average price is $141.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.49. The Clorox Company has a fifty-two week low of $127.60 and a fifty-two week high of $171.37.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.12). Clorox had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 316.87%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.71 earnings per share. Clorox's revenue was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Clorox's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 87.61%.

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.