Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $996,000 Position in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board significantly increased its stake in The Clorox Company by 74.6%, acquiring an additional 2,890 shares, bringing their total holdings to 6,763 shares valued at approximately $996,000.
• Clorox plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.24, up from the previous $1.22, representing a 4.0% yield based on an annualized dividend of $4.96.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $143.36 for Clorox shares, with most ratings leaning towards a "Hold" status, as multiple firms have recently downgraded their price targets for the stock.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 74.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,763 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Clorox were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Clorox during the 1st quarter valued at $247,000. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at $399,000. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. bought a new position in shares of Clorox in the first quarter valued at about $400,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its position in Clorox by 33.5% during the 1st quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 28,510 shares of the company's stock worth $4,198,000 after buying an additional 7,159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Clorox by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 25,582 shares of the company's stock worth $3,767,000 after acquiring an additional 4,085 shares during the last quarter. 78.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Clorox Trading Down 0.9%

CLX traded down $1.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $124.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,299,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,869,570. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $125.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 1-year low of $117.35 and a 1-year high of $171.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Clorox had a return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.99 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Clorox Company will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Clorox Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on CLX shares. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on shares of Clorox and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Clorox from $167.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 target price (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Clorox currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.