Ethic Inc. Increases Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,411 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,457 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $3,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CLX. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Clorox by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 565,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,893,000 after purchasing an additional 6,987 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at $204,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Clorox by 119.6% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Clorox by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 654,198 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,248,000 after purchasing an additional 80,189 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Clorox during the fourth quarter valued at $1,566,000. 78.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Clorox

In other Clorox news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 4,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $176.00 to $154.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Clorox from $151.00 to $144.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $145.00 to $142.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $171.00 to $169.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Clorox from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $151.23.

Clorox Price Performance

Shares of CLX traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $134.89. 770,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,311,857. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $127.60 and a 1-year high of $171.37. 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 50 day moving average of $141.30 and a 200-day moving average of $153.49. The stock has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.60.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 316.87% and a net margin of 6.38%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is presently 87.61%.

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.