Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in The Clorox Company by 38.3%, now holding 6,285 shares worth approximately $925,000.
• The Clorox Company reported an EPS of $1.45 for the last quarter, which fell short of analysts' expectations of $1.57, and a revenue decline of 8.0% year-over-year.
• Clorox has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.24 per share, which increases the annualized dividend to $4.96, yielding 3.93%.

Pacer Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX - Free Report) by 38.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,285 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,897 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Clorox were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its position in Clorox by 75.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,361,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,163,000 after purchasing an additional 585,526 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Clorox by 688.7% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 587,679 shares of the company's stock worth $86,535,000 after buying an additional 513,171 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Clorox by 549.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 542,726 shares of the company's stock worth $88,144,000 after acquiring an additional 459,203 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP raised its stake in Clorox by 187.9% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 698,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,508,000 after buying an additional 456,114 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Clorox by 154.6% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 570,503 shares of the company's stock worth $92,655,000 after purchasing an additional 346,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.53% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Pierre R. Breber acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $136.57 per share, with a total value of $546,280.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,000 shares in the company, valued at $546,280. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down previously from $140.00) on shares of Clorox in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Evercore ISI set a $140.00 target price on Clorox and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $137.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Clorox from $150.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Clorox from $144.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $143.36.

Clorox Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE CLX traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $125.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 954,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,733. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.15, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.49. The Clorox Company has a 12 month low of $117.35 and a 12 month high of $171.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.86.

Clorox (NYSE:CLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 377.86% and a net margin of 11.40%. Clorox's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be given a dividend of $1.24 per share. This represents a $4.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. 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. Clorox's payout ratio is presently 74.85%.

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.