Citigroup Inc. Increases Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 67.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 157,561 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 63,383 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Clorox worth $23,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC now owns 2,940 shares of the company's stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 13,266 shares of the company's stock worth $1,953,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Sfmg LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the company's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Financial Avengers Inc. now owns 457 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Clorox by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the company's stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE CLX traded up $0.59 on Friday, reaching $122.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,204,790 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,871,838. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.49. The company's fifty day moving average is $124.84 and its 200 day moving average is $136.64. The Clorox Company has a 52-week low of $117.35 and a 52-week high of $171.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.24 by $0.63. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Clorox's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CLX. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Clorox from $135.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Clorox presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.36.

Clorox Company 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.