iA Global Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• iA Global Asset Management Inc. has significantly reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 42.7%, selling 7,280 shares and holding 9,762 shares worth approximately $1.44 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Sonora Investment Management and SFMG LLC, have adjusted their positions in Clorox, indicating a trend of increased investments alongside iA's divestment.
• Clorox recently announced a dividend increase to $1.24 per share, with an annualized payout of $4.96, reflecting a yield of 4.0% and a payout ratio of 74.85%.

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 42.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,762 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,280 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $1,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CLX shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Clorox from $129.00 to $119.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI set a $140.00 price objective on Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Clorox presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.36.

Clorox Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Clorox stock opened at $125.50 on Thursday. The Clorox Company has a 12-month low of $117.35 and a 12-month high of $171.37. The company has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $125.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.42.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.63. The company had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Clorox had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 377.86%. Clorox's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 13th. This is a positive change from Clorox's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. Clorox's payout ratio is 74.85%.

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.

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